


Faeries of Negima: The Beginning

by Eltar



Series: Faeries of Negima [1]
Category: Fairy Tail, Mahou Sensei Negima!, UQ Holder!
Genre: Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-02
Packaged: 2018-04-29 16:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 35,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5134460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eltar/pseuds/Eltar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the end of the mission to the Sun Village it was thought to be a time to relax. Suddenly Tartaros and Zeref strike, catching them off guard and forcing them to fight the ultimate enemy before they are ready. In the battle's aftermath, as magics run wild, the members of Fairy Tail’s Strongest Team find themselves lost in a new world, scattered through time and space and desperate to find one another. With the help of some good friends, a young teacher and his class full of oddities, can they find their way back together again? And as darkness spreads from the roots of this new world, will they be able to help their new friends fight it, or will the lights of Fairy Tail and Negima be extinguished once and for all?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome readers, welcome! Before you continue to read the story itself, please bear with me as I impart some important information. This story will principally revolve around both Natsu and Negi, but will also expand to include the viewpoints of many other characters. You may expect to see harems for each of the two male leads (but only for them) as well as canon and non-canonical relationships form among the rest of the cast. This will be a slow-developing, mature work which I hope that you will enjoy. 
> 
> If that sounds like your cup of tea, then read on! Read on, and enjoy the ride.

**Disclaimer:** The following story is a fan made work of fiction. _Fairy Tail_ and _Mahou Sensei Negima_ are owned and written by Hiro Mashima and Ken Akamatsu respectively. Please support their official releases.

**Chapter 1**

**Bonds of Golden Fire**

Nestled within the secluded hot spring behind his home, the old wizard Warrod gave a sigh of pleasure as he submerged himself in the steaming water. The heat soothed his aching body in a way which no other substance could match.

Yet tonight the springs were exceptionally soothing, for on this evening Warrod had guests with whom to share its pleasure. Guests who came from the guild he had helped found almost a century ago and who were even now demonstrating that its wild spirit burned.

The young flame wizard Natsu had just given an impassioned speech on how he would defeat Zeref's demons. The young man had yelled and hollered as his fists waved in the cool night air. The boy's passion burned as bright as the fire magic he wielded, warming the old man's heart as he listened.

For the youngster's determination was infectious and Warrod would not see it crushed by doubt over things that were long since done. Even Mavis herself would have smiled at the boy's words and joined him in fighting. Tarnishing it with unneeded truths could be left for a later date.

Besides, the young man had not paid attention to where he had thrown his punches while speaking; and if Warrod were to guess, the night was about to grow more entertaining. The young boy had made the mistake of hitting his redheaded companion and now looked to be in serious trouble.

The pink-haired dragon-slayer backpedaled away from the redhead as she rose from the flagstones. His expression paled as the fury on her face deepened. Fury which was just about to erupt.

" _Naaaa-tsuuuuu!_ "

"Erza, _no_ , I didn't -"

" _Die!_ "

Warrod and the other fairies laughed as the naked redhead assaulted the male pinkette with righteous venard the entire time you pervert.”

With their decisions made the mages of Fairy Tail split up and set off. Lucy tried to grab Natsu's clothes on her way out, but a look from Erza sent the blonde haired mage running after Gray. Warrod tried to call out to stop them from leaving, but his voice failed him.

The old wizard's struggle against Zeref's magic was too great. Despite the cage's magic blocking ability, the dark mage had renewed his assault. It was taking all of Warrod's might to stop his old teacher from breaking out of the cage and killing them all.

He could only mouth the words he wanted to yell and listen helplessly as they scattered into the night.

It could only be a short matter of time before the sounds of battle rang as Fairies and Demons met in combat.

* * *

Natsu and Happy took to the air and shot off towards the group's right. "Ne, Natsu, is this the direction of the fire user?"

Natsu nodded his head. "Hmm, I’m pretty sure it is. I caught a whiff of smoke from this direction before the wind shifted, and this is where Erza said it came from too. Whoever the bastard is he's mine. Ah! Look there!" Natsu spotted a figure flanking the group's right, trying to stay of Erza's line of sight. He pointed a hand at it to focus his partner's attention. "Let's go, Happy! Dive-bomb attack"

"Aye!" The blue cat cried.

" _Fire Dragon's_ _-"_ Natsu began.

Below them, the figure finished his flanking maneuver. Sighting his targets, the man smiled and raised his hands. "Jackal says, _boom_ ," he screamed.

"- _Slash!_ " finished Natsu with a roar.

With a thud and a blast of fire, Natsu's attack sent the man went flying into the thick forest behind Warrod's house. Natsu grinned triumphantly while raising a blazing fist. "If that's all he's got then this'll be a piece of cake, Happy."

"Or a yummy fish, aye!"

* * *

Gray and Lucy were in hot pursuit of a fleeing shadow. They had picked up the figure's movement shortly after a loud boom had sounded from the other side of Warrod's home and had pursued it for the last two minutes. Yet something wasn't right.

Suddenly uncomfortable with the situation, Gray placed a hand behind him and touched Lucy's shoulder. Her momentum stopped, and as he turned his head to meet her eyes, Gray saw her mouth close. Lucy had seen the look of unease in his eyes and, thankfully, stilled her voice.

The shadowy figure he and Lucy were pursuing had never varied its distance from them once during their pursuit of it. Even now Gray could see it lingering within sight, and seeing it there confirmed Gray's instincts.

_Shit!_

"Lucy – it's a trap! _Ice Make – Sphere_ _!_ " Gray yelled. He slammed his hands together, his closed right fist crashing into an open left palm. An ice barrier sprang up around himself and Lucy, enclosing them against an attack from any angle.

The defensive shield sprang up just in time. A crashing wave of ice came rolling in from three sides, crashing against Gray's barrier and threatening to crush it.

"Lucy, I need some backup." Gray grunted out as a second wave crashed into the barrier. Cracks shot through the ice as it began to buckle. "This guy is good."

Lucy nodded and held up a golden key. "I'm on it! _Gate of the Lion – Open_!" A brilliant flash lit the surrounding trees, illuminating Lucy and Gray's faces as a dashingly dressed man in shades appeared.

His golden hair rustled in the air currents released from the summoning spell, but for all of his impressive appearance the man's slightly foolish smile ruined the entrance. This feeling was only confirmed when the man placed an arm around his master's bare waist and drew her close.

Gray tamped down his annoyance. Womanizer that Loki was, the leader of the twelve Zodiac spirits was a dependable fighter and a good friend. The spirit just needed to be focused on the situation at hand.

“Enough of the flirting Loki.” Gray said. “We've got an enemy out there and I'll need your help to deal with him.” He could feel the force behind the enemy's ice magic fading, which was a surefire sign of an incoming attack. They needed to launch their own counter-assault before that happened. “We don't have long before the next attack hits, so get your shit in gear and hop to it man.”

The only spirit member of Fairy Tail grinned at Gray's words. “So this guy is tough enough to make you nervous, eh Gray? Don't worry about it. I'll take out anyone who tries to harm my golden princess, even if she is cheating on me with you, partner.”

Lucy squawked in indignation at her spirit's words. “ _What?_ I am _not_ _cheating_ on anyone with anyone, you stupid spirit! So just shut up and kick the ass of whoever is throwing this ice at us.”

“As my Princess commands, Lucy.”

Golden light flared into life as Loki finished speaking. The magical power of Regulus, the spirit's lifeblood and source of strength, lit up the night.

The spirit turned his attention to Gray. “What do you think Gray? Combo number eight?”

‘Combo number eight,’ the spirit was referring to one of the combination abilities they had worked on before the guild test on Tenrou Island. A pretty damn good choice, if Gray did say so himself.

Gray squared his shoulders and prepared his spells. “Got it, Loki,” he said. “Let's get this over with quickly. Three… two… one… mark!”

 _Boom!_ The barrier of ice, which had shielded them from the enemy's assaults, shattered outwards with explosive force. Shards of sharpened ice tore into the darkened forest in a deadly hail as they sliced into anything in their path. A cacophony of cracking and crashing noises followed as the dense foliage surrounding them absorbed the brunt of damage.

All of which was secondary to its main purpose; to distract the enemy and leave them off balance for Loki's following attack.

Yet that attack did not come, and as the second ticked by Gray grew concerned. What the hell was Loki thinking?

Lucy's sudden gasp was the first sign that Loki wasn't just being slow, but that things had gone terribly wrong. Gray turned his head around once more to see just what was going on behind him. What he saw made his eyes widen from shock.

Loki entire body had been frozen solid; stilled in the act of lowering his hands.

The shining glow of his magic, which should have been lancing into the forest in a golden stream of destruction, was instead fading fast. Their combination had been countered in a manner Gray had not even thought possible, and in the face of such power Gray didn’t know how to react.

Thankfully, Lucy was quicker to respond. The golden haired girl frantically swiped two golden keys in the air as she invoked her celestial magic. "Loki, go home. _Close Gate_ _!_ Next, _Gate of the Goat – Open!_ "

A second flash lit the woods as Lucy's next spirit was summoned. This time, it was a well-dressed satyr. Calm and resolute, the spirit's gaze pierced into the dark night. Unlike when Loki had been summoned, however, there was no time for talk; the enemy's next attack was already on its way.

The sound of ice smashing against ice filled the woods.

* * *

Back at the hot springs, Warrod could only grit his teeth as Zeref's magic slowly ate through his wooden barrier. This was a battle he could not win, but the gap between the two of them was heart rending.

He, Warrod, stop the dark mage Zeref? On his own? Even the thought of it was ridiculous to the old mage.

The gap in power between them was too great. Even worse, it was Zeref who had taught Warrod magic in the first place. The dark mage knew every strength and weakness of the power being used against him, putting Warrod at twin disadvantages.

Then the words of a chanted spell came to his ears and suddenly new strength flooded into his body. Power, both magical and physical, raced through his being and into the conjured barrier beyond.

This new power reinforced the elder mage's spell in a way Warrod had never before seen, almost as if it were both seeping into and surrounding it. The magical energy raced into the barrier, and wherever it went the passage of Zeref's magic was slowed to a crawl.

How could that be possible? Even Warrod's magic couldn't do that! Warrod had to know which one of the young Fairies was responsible for this feat.

He twisted his head around to find out.

Looking backwards he spotted the young blue-haired girl, Wendy, standing behind him. A look of determined concentration was on her face as she held both of her hands a finger's distance away from his back.

It was she who was the source of the mysterious spell, for he could see the magic flowing into him from her raised hands.

Warrod did not know why her magic was able to resist Zeref's, but to have her present at the old mage's side for this battle... well, maybe fortune had not deserted them after all.

"My thanks, little one." Warrod said with a forced chuckle. "Those old buns of mine needed a little warming."

Flushing crimson at his words, little Wendy could only stutter and mumble a response. Seeing her so flustered helped cheer Warrod's spirit. Even in the midst of a battle to the death, his sense of humor was as sharp as ever.

Sadly, it seemed not everyone agreed; as Erza placed a calming hand on Wendy's shoulder. The younger girl's stutters stilled under the older girl's hand, and the serious atmosphere Warrod had tried to lighten with his joke descended upon them once again.

"Elder," Erza stated dourly, "do you need my help to defeat Zeref, or may I go join one of the other pairs in battle?"

Warrod turned his head away. The other mages needed to be retrieved, not joined. But how could he convince her of this?

"Elder,” she continued fervently, “please answer my question. Time is of the essence and we need to divvy our forces into the most effective units possible."

Luckily for Warrod, another voice answered in his stead. “Quiet Erza, can't you see that the old coot is struggling? Even with Wendy supporting him, the geezer is fighting against Zeref! He doesn't need any distractions.”

“Maybe, Charle, but Natsu and the others are also fighting out there in the woods. While I trust that they can handle their opponents, we still know neither the strength nor the total number of our opponents. If our opponents have reinforcements then it is imperative that I go out to reinforce our comrades!”

“If they do have reinforcements and see Wendy, the old geezer and I totally undefended, what would happen then? Wendy can't support Warrod and fight someone else at the same time, and the old mage is probably fighting a losing battle as it is.”

The two of them argued back and forth with one another, each refusing to give ground. Warrod, though, was thankful for their disagreement. It prevented Erza from running off as her comrades had done earlier and kept her nearby as Warrod composed his thoughts.

When he finally spoke it was with a heavy voice that cut through their arguing voices. "I understand your feelings, my little fairies. But you must trust in my words when I say the following: that fighting will not win the day and that victory over our foes is impossible this night."

Erza's eyes widened. "But, Elder-"

"No, my courageous fairy, victory is impossible. I lack the power to destroy Zeref even with your help." The wood mage's great eyebrows waggled in sorrow. Though the woman was unable to see it, he could only hope that his feelings came through in his voice as well. "I contain him for the moment but his magic is slowly turning my barrier to dust... and there is nothing I can do to stop it."

Warrod's eyes flickered to the sides, where fiery explosions ranged on one and towers of ice rose from the other. "What is worse, I fear that you are right and that our guild-mates have found terrible opponents of their own. Before I engaged Zeref I could sense further enemies both weak and strong in the distance. Without support, Natsu and the rest may be unable to return... and without their aid, the casting of _Fairy Sphere_ is impossible."

Shifting his stance, Warrod placed both of his hands onto the wooden barrier and let them sink into the wood. By fusing his body with his spell he could greatly increase its potency, but at a high cost. If the spell were to be shattered by Zeref, Warrod would also lose the parts of his body that had fused with the spell.

It was a spell of desperation, but when combined with the reinforcement Wendy had given him then doing it could buy them time they needed to get everyone back together. Because no matter how he reinforced his spell it would not be enough. Warrod needed everyone gathered together to cast _Fairy Sphere_ , and it needed to be soon. Or else he would not have the strength needed.

"Now go,” he spoke. “You must summon them back while I still have the strength to cast _Fairy Sphere_. For the sake of our guild and the crest that we all bear, please do as I ask."

Erza stood still for a long moment, locking eyes with the elder mage. The muscles in her face tightened and loosened spasmodically. Warrod watched one of her hands twitch the sword it held. Every instinct the red-haired knight possessed seemed to be screaming at her to ignore his words and fight their enemies with her blades.

A desire to fight the enemy, to never give in to them. It was an admirable sentiment and one that every true member of Fairy Tail possessed in abundance.

Still, it was not what was needed in this moment. A short time after their gazes locked she turned her head away and nodded in defeat. "As you say, Elder. I will follow your wishes in this regard.”

She walked away from his position and moved out of his sight before speaking. "Wendy, Charle, go get Natsu and Happy. I'll locate Gray and Lucy. Come back here as soon as you find them, and move quickly. Understood?"

“Aye!”

The two young girls quickly gave their assent. It seemed that they had followed his conversation with Erza and had also decided to follow his wishes.

Upon hearing their response, Erza left with the speed of which only top class mages were capable. The black armor that she had shifted into, her _Black Wing Armor_ , gave her the gift of flight and concealed her form in the night. Warrod felt her presence move towards the woods, towards their missing comrades.

As she left, Warrod saw Charle hit her furry face with a single white paw from the corner of his eye.

"We just sounded like Happy, didn't we, Wendy?" The young cat said with a grimace.

Wendy nodded, crestfallen to Warrod's eyes. "Erza... she has that effect on people." The girl gulped as she spoke. "It's really frightening."

"If only it worked on Zeref..."

"Wendy, Charle. I said move it – _now!_ "

"Aye, Erza!" The two girls chorused again. Then the two leaped into the air even faster than Erza, speeding off into the night to find the young girl's fellow dragon slayer.

* * *

Natsu screamed as a blast tore through his body. The guy he was fighting used some sort of weird power that Natsu couldn't figure out. Blast after blast had hit him and he had no idea why! For only the second time since he had mastered Igneel's dragon magic, fire was hurting him. It wasn't right!

Natsu's body slammed into the ground with a heavy thump. As the pain flashed through his mind the dragon slayer tried to push it aside and think. He had punched his opponent too many times to remember each one very clearly, but every time he landed a hit on his enemy it seemed that an explosion tore through Natsu as well. There had to be some kind of trick to that effect, something the dragon slayer could use to flip the table and pound his enemy into the ground.

"Oh, is that all the famous, _mighty_ son of Igneel can offer?" Natsu's opponent called, coming into view from behind a burning tree. “And here I thought that a human raised by a dragon might offer a more challenging fight. Damn am I disappointed.”

The man was of average height and well built. To an ordinary person he might even appear to be close to human, with only two furry ears and a cat's tail giving his inhuman nature away. But Natsu was no ordinary person either, and to the dragon slayer’s nose the man smelled wrong, like no other creature the dragon slayer had ever encountered.

Except for two; Lullaby and Deliora, the demons created by the dark mage Zeref.

As these thoughts ran through Natsu's mind the man continued to close in on Natsu's position. A dark grin lit his eyes in deadly amusement as he kept speaking.

"Well, in the end I guess it doesn't really matter. You could be the son of a giant monkey or a nine-tailed fox and it still wouldn't matter! See, all things quake at the feet of demons. And before me, Jackal, you were doomed the moment you followed me into the woods."

Natsu slowly lifted his head from the dirt. His limbs were heavy and some of his ribs didn't feel quite right, but he wasn't finished yet. This battle had only just gotten started, and sooner or later he would see through his opponent’s damn trick. Then the ass-kicking would begin and Natsu would laugh as he tore the demonic bastard a new one.

As for his opponent, so what if the guy claimed to be a demon? To hell with him. If he thought that a few broken bones would keep Natsu from beating him to death, the man was dead wrong.

"Now lift up your head and witness your demise, mortal," Jackal purred as he continued to close the distance. "No attack or defense can save you from my blasts, for with every blow we land on each other you come one step close to death."

 _That was it!_ Natsu thought to himself. As soon as the words came out of the man's mouth, Natsu replayed every moment of their battle in his head and saw that the statement matched up perfectly.

Every blow Natsu had landed on Jackal hadcaused an explosion to hit Natsu as well. But the next question was h _ow_ did it occur. Was it transferred by contact from body to body? If so, was it delayed or was it instantaneous? Or was it something else?

 _Bah!_ Screw the thinking – Natsu would find out when he punched the guy in his smug face. That was more his style anyway. Then his partner chimed in, completely ignoring the information Jackal had just given them.

"Natsu, I'm coming!" Happy cried out from above. The blue cat began to dive, aiming for Jackal's head.

Natsu choked on his own breath as he forced himself to stand. "No Happy, stay back." Pushing himself up on aching and burned muscles, Natsu stood unbowed as he glared down the approaching demon with a cocky grin. "I've got his trick figured out buddy. And demon, human, or sack of shit, it doesn't matter."

A vein ticked above Natsu's left eye as Happy broke off his dive. "He's mine."

Jackal sneered at Natsu's words. "What's there to figure out, dumb ass? I'll frickin tell you!" Jackal slapped his chest and crowed.

"My body curses those who dare touch it. Plain and goddamn simple. It is unavoidable and inevitable. Your own hits doom you to a symphony of explosions as I curse you; again and again and again!"

Stopping shortly before the bloodied and defiant dragon slayer, the demon let his sneer drop. "Know your place, mortal."

Natsu grinned wildly as he cracked the knuckles of his flaming right hand. "Know yours first, asshole.  _Fire Dragon's Iron-Fist_ _!_ "

With a flash of fire and a burst of magical power, Natsu sent his enemy flying out of sight and deep into the forest.

Then Jackal's cursed explosion tore into Natsu, sending him to the ground and ripping the surrounding area apart. Blood and dirt soon clouded his sight, and for a moment he lost his sense of hearing as well.

A feeling of intense vertigo grabbed him as the demon's explosive attack vented its power upon the dragon slayer. Natsu's senses began to return as the feeling passed, and soon Natsu could hear Happy crying out somewhere above him.

He slowly wiped his left arm across his face to clear his vision and considered Jackal's trick. The curse was time delayed after all. Slow enough for him to catch it, Natsu thought to himself as he blinked blood and dirt from his eyes, but fast enough that he would have to pay close attention or risk getting pounded even harder.

The dragon slayer tried to move forward but stopped, grabbing hold of his knees as his body told him to be still. Damn, but Jackal's last attack had done a number on him. With his body in such a terrible condition, Natsu would have to give it everything he had in order to win.

Happy hovered in front of his face with a worried expression. "Natsu, you don't look too good." The cat murmured mournfully. "Will you be alright? That guy is really tough after all. Nothing like fish."

The flying cat studied his friend closely as Natsu continued to take his time recovering. "Maybe we should find Wendy and have her take a look at you while that other guy picks himself up and tries to find us again. I think he flew pretty far away."

Natsu forced himself to let go of his knees and straighten up. "My body's good enough, Happy. Besides, they have their own fights and we've got to end things here."

He took a deep breath as wind blew through the smoke-filled air. A perplexed look rose on his face as he picked up a powerful and familiar scent.

"Or maybe they'll come to us?" Natsu growled in confusion. “What the hell?”

* * *

Wendy bit her thumb as she and Charle flew through the air. The battle hadn't been going for very long, but already there was a swath of devastation carved into the landscape. Trees lay broken in long columns with huge pieces of ground churned and ripped apart. Everything was on fire and smoke filled the air.

Whomever Natsu was fighting must have been very powerful to withstand the blasts he had unleashed. It made the damage she had seen on Tenrou Island pale in comparison.

"Wendy, I can't see them at all," Charle said. "Can you smell them?

Wendy took a quick sniff and let out a worried sigh. "I can, but with all the smoke in the air I can't pin it down. I'm sorry for failing, Charle."

Wendy wanted to cry at her failure. She could usually pick out Natsu's fiery smell of brimstone from miles away, but there was just too much smoke and fire for the young dragon slayer to pick it out. On a battlefield like this the pink-haired man might as well have been invisible to her, and Wendy felt useless as a result.

Charle must have sensed these thoughts, for the white-furred cat hugged the small dragon slayer tighter in her arms. "It's okay, Wendy. We'll find them soon, safe and sound, I can feel it. Maybe the noise will start up again, or maybe your dragon hearing will pick up their voices."

Wendy smiled. “Thank you Charle.”

"Charle! Wendy! Down here!"

"Ah! See Wendy? There's that yowling tomcat already. Too stubborn and too dumb to die, just like his master."

"Charle! I have a booboo. Can you kiss it to make it feel better?"

"Whatever you do Wendy, please don't treat it. If that fool is still acting like such an idiot then it isn't worth your time to even look at it. I swear, why does he have to be such a giant idiot? Why?"

Wendy giggled a little at Carla's soft tone and scowling face. The white-furred cat was too harsh on her fellow Exceed, and it was only in times like this that her true concern for his well-being surface so openly. On a night when everything seemed to be going wrong, seeing this remain true was comforting.

Happy kept yelling as the two girls descended on his position, but his partner was utterly silent. Wendy could tell that Natsu saw her, but her fellow dragon slayer seemed to be brooding over something.

"Natsu! Happy!" Wendy called out as she and Carla landed next to the boy and his cat. "You've got to come back quickly! I just came from the springs, and Warrod says that he can't hold Zeref for long, and that more demons are approaching, and that –" Wendy stopped talking as she let out a gasp.

She had just gotten a good look at Natsu's wounds through the black ash that covered his body and the man did not look good.

" _Natsu!_ _W_ _hat happened to your body_ _?_ ” She said as she rushed over to him in a blue blur. “Quick, let me heal you."

"Eh, it's not that bad. I'm just a little singed is all." Natsu growled out as she looked him over. He tried to back away to avoid her, dodging her smaller body with all the ease of a punch drunk prize fighter. "The guy I'm fighting has some sort of weird little trick that took me a while to figure out, so don't worry about it."

“I'm a healer, Natsu, and I will worry about it! Can't you see that you're not okay? Please stay still and let me heal you.”

“But the guy might come back and try to attack.” Natsu said as he tried to beat her back with his one good arm.

It was not enough. Just like him, Wendy was also a dragon slayer. Increased strength, speed, and senses were the norm. But unlike the older boy, Wendy was still uninjured and filled with determination to conquer her unruly patient.

She was able to bypass his arm and grab his wounded hand with ease, snapping at him as she did. “I don't care, Natsu! So stay still, now!”

As the elder dragon slayer growled at her in annoyance, Wendy was surprised to find herself growling right back at him. Natsu was durable and tough – all dragon slayers were – but no one in his condition should try to pass themselves off as being completely okay! Especially not when the healer expressed worry over him.

The man had three broken ribs, half of the fingers on his right hand looked to have contusions, and if the splotchy marks on his bare chest was any indication, Natsu was both burned and suffering massive internal bleeding.

Whoever or whatever Natsu had been fighting hadn't used anything even close to resembling 'little tricks.' _Argh! Not only_ _is_ _Natsu being stubborn, but h_ _e's_ _trying to pass it off as nothing,_ _just like he always does,_ Wendy thought to herself. It was maddedning! The young dragon-slayer could feel herself growing angrier by the second as she placed both of her hands on his chest.

" _Little_ tricks do not cause this sort of damage, Natsu," Wendy bit out as she tried to quickly heal the worst of the damage. She was mad and not in a mood to let him off the hook with her usual sweetness. " _Big_ tricks do, and big boys don't try to lie to their healer about the state of their injuries!"

As usual, though, any word which differed from his own in regards to his medical condition were completely ignored.

"Bah! It was just a little trick with a big punch is all, but now I've got it all figured out, so no worries, Wendy. If that bastard thought I hit him hard with that last punch, then he won't know what to do with himself when my next one lands. A few more hits on him and the guy's finished! Ain't that right, Happy?"

Happy landed on Natsu's left shoulder and poked the dragon slayer in the cheek. "Ne, Natsu, I don't think he knew what hit him the _last_ time you punched him. It's been over a minute and he still hasn't come back." Happy clapped his paws together and visibly beamed his enthusiasm over the idea. "I know – maybe you killed him!"

“Aha ha! That guy is a pansy, so I probably did end him with that last punch.”

“Aye! It's our victory!”

“Ha! Just like usual Happy. We're the best tag team duo out there.”

“Aye sir!”

Over to the side, Wendy saw Charle cover her face with one small paw. “You guys are seriously idiots.” the small cat muttered. “Tomcat, if that was actually true – and I seriously doubt that it is – then things still look bad for us.”

Jumping on Wendy's right shoulder, Charle shook her left paw at them sternly. “Natsu looks half-dead even with Wendy healing him, Warrod is losing his battle with Zeref, and according to that old coot even more enemies are approaching us right now. How does beating a single opponent mean victory? Oh, and who knows what is happening with Gray and the others. For all we know, they could be dead!"

Charle punctuated her words with a sharp rap of her paw against both of their heads. The two males winced while Wendy merely nodded. Charle was saying exactly what Wendy wanted to say, and Wendy would give her partner her full support.

"The most important thing we can do – way more important than waiting to see what happened to Natsu's opponent – is to get back to the spring a.s.a.p."

Natsu's face turned rebellious at those words. Thankfully, Charle was ready for it. "Those are Erza's orders, Natsu, so no arguing either. Got it?"

Wendy saw Natsu's jaws open and shut fast enough that she heard them click together. Then he nodded his head in sullen acceptance. Happy soon followed it with a soft 'aye' and nod of his own.

The young girl felt a flash of jealousy and wonder as it happened. Two separate scoldings from her and Charle only made the man dig in stubbornly, _wh_ _ereas_ _the mere hint of an angry Erza was enough to get him in line. Erza was amazing!_ _One day maybe she too could have that effect on people._

With a sigh, though, she tried to suppress the feeling. Erza was scary in a way that Wendy would never be, and that was something that would never change. She would just have to find another way to be strong, and until that happened she would have to be happy with what she did possess.

Wendy finished her emergency healing as she thought. She then stepped back to examine Natsu's body one final time. Her eyes traveled across his naked body and, unfortunately, caused her to once again remember her own nakedness. A blush crept into her cheeks as she tried to cover herself up, and the blush only grew worse as she discovered a tattoo on his body she had never before seen.

To cover her sudden embarrassment, Wendy tried to focus on the results of her healing. She had healed the internal bleeding and fixed the broken bones in his hand and ribs. If Natsu tried fighting again anytime soon, though, the healed areas would not hold up with their customary durability. It was a patch job at best, but it would have to do for the moment.

"How does it feel, Natsu?" Wendy asked as she looked around for something to hide behind. “Do you feel like you can move around again? I tried to do my best, but it's important that you feel like you can move without hurting yourself. ”

Natsu rotated his shoulder and flexed his hand several times. Unlike her, the pink-haired man seemed to be totally unconcerned with his own nakedness. Damn him! Damn him for making her the only one embarrassed in this situation.

Whatever he felt as he gave a few practice punches in the air pleased him, though, because he soon gave a satisfied grunt.

"It feels like I tried to punch Gray's thick skull one too many times, and my chest doesn't feel quite right, but I've fought with worse." Looking down at Wendy, the grim look in his eyes faded somewhat as he smiled slightly. "Thanks a ton, Wendy. Let's get back to the others."

Wendy smiled in return. Whatever anger she felt at him faded at his smile. The man was a stubborn idiot, but his warm words always made her feel better about things.

“That sounds good to me, Natsu. Happy, could you pick Natsu up first? Charle and I will follow right behind you.”

“Sure! But only if Charle kisses my booboo first.”

“That won't be happening, you stupid tomcat. Ever. So listen to Wendy and pick up your fellow idiot.”

“Waaah! You're so mean to me, Charle!

“Whatever.”

As the Exceed continued to argue with one another, Natsu gave her a soft nudge. Wendy jumped in surprise. She had totally forgotten his presence for a moment. Something she should not have done, because the man's goofy grin was giving her goosebumps.

"By the way, Wendy," Natsu said. "I never knew that you had a tattoo down there too. Sweet look!"

The blush which lit up her face at Natsu's words could have outshone the moon and she nearly swallowed her tongue in horror. Wendy had just managed to put her previous embarrassment out of her mind! Why had their enemies attacked while the Fairy Tail mages were in, of all places, an outdoors hot-spring? She wanted to defeat them all the more for causing her to feel this this much embarrassment.

Eventually, once her tongue climbed back out of her throat, Wendy managed to stutter out the only reply which came to mind. "I didn't know you had one either, Natsu-san."

"I don't have just one,” Natsu beamed. “I've got three!"

Wendy wondered if she would ever stop blushing again.

* * *

Erza was thankful that she had chosen her _Black Wing Armor_. It had allowed her to locate Gray and Lucy without running into trouble, even allowing her to block an attack which might have knocked the blond girl unconscious.

Unfortunately, by giving up the element of surprise Erza was now stuck in the same mess. The three guild mates were stuck in a hollow between two small hills. Trees surrounded them on all sides while frozen plants, mounds of ice and gaping holes dotted the forest.

Looking at the other two members of Fairy Tail caused Erza to frown in concern. There was no point in sugarcoating things, so she spoke what was on her mind. “Gray, Lucy, how are the two of you holding up? The two of you look like you're in rough shape."

Lucy was gasping and visibly shaking to Erza's sight. The celestial mage fumbled another key out of her key box. Despite being such a short battle, the young woman had already been forced to use six of her ten Zodiac spirits in order to stay alive.

Gray didn't look much better. The man's body was battered and bruised all over, and one of his eyes looked like it had been hit with a hammer. It was black and swollen from some attack that had gotten through his defenses. Chances were that he wouldn't be able to see very well with it.

The two of them shared a look before responding to Erza's question.

"I'm alright for more, Erza. I've still got some gates left," Lucy said as she tried to catch her breath. "But I can't do a close up fight."

Gray chimed in afterward with barely a hitch in his voice. "I could go all night, Erza. This bastard won't get the best of me."

A sudden rumbling came, and spikes of ice jutted into the air around their position. Gray slammed his hands together and pressed them against the ground, halting the enemy's attack. He then sent a return blast along the mage's channel but soon shook his head in disappointment.

"Tch," he muttered. "Missed the bastard again."

Gray then threw her a sharp look. “Any help you could provide would be appreciated, Erza. Or you could just sit back and watch me handle this, it's your call.”

Erza nodded and Re-quipped her armor, swapping out her _Black Wing Armor_ in exchange for her _Ice-Empress_ _Armor_. The light which shone from the use of her magic couldn't give away their position; the enemy's attack had shown that they already knew the exact position of the Fairy Tail mages.

The moon's light glittered on the blue-white metal, and Erza unsheathed the armor's gleaming scimitar the instant it appeared. As she did, Erza also looked around herself with pursed lips.

 _This armor wouldn't allow her to fight the man as well as Gray, but at least it was a start. At worst it might make their opponent a little more wary, since any_ _Ice_ _mage worth his weight in water should know the armor's many abilities._

_Hm... actually, with the armor now equipped, a new idea had popped into Erza's head._

"Gray, put up another sphere, quickly," she commanded. "We cannot win like this – but I know a way to do so – crap! Lucy, get out of the way!"

Lucy let out a shriek as the blades of ice Erza had seen in the distance flew towards the blond girl's head. With blinding speed, Erza knocked the other woman down and blocked the shards of ice with her blade, the sword flashing in the moonlight as it reduced the shards to nothingness. Meanwhile, Gray sent a return blast of icy spears screaming in the direction the attack had originated. With any luck it would buy them a few moments of peace.

"Erza, not the best time for a blind defense," Gray noted, eyes calmly scanning the forest. "We're already in a bit of a bind. Lucy nearly lost her head there."

With no time to explain her plan in detail Erza injected some steel into voice as she gave her comrade a pointed stare. "It is. So do it."

While visibly uncomfortable with the suggestion, Gray followed her command instantly. " _Ice-Make: Sphere!_ "

Erza wasted little time as the man's sphere of ice came up and surrounded them.

"Gray, the moment he hits your ice barrier, let me know and I'll reinforce it. From what I can tell he likes hitting in waves of two to three attacks, but he needs to pause after every attack in order to shift position; that's why your attacks haven't been hitting him. Now, after the enemy's first one ends you’ll need to shatter the sphere outwards and send as many sharpened pieces in as many directions as possible."

“You do realize that I already tried that attack before, right?” Gray said while frowning. “There's no way he'll get caught off guard from it.”

“I didn't, but that actually makes this plan more likely to succeed. Because this time is going to be very different.”

Gray's portion explained; Erza turned to face Lucy. "After Gray's attack, Lucy, I'll switch to my _Flame Empress Armor_ and melt the remaining ice, all while sending a second multi-directional attack into the woods. At this point, you will then use the resulting water to summon Aquarius and have her unleash her strongest attack."

Quieting for a moment, Erza looked at both of her fellow mages, steely eyed. Lucy shivered while Gray stared unblinking, but Erza could see the fire to carry out the plan burning within Lucy's eyes.

Good. They were going to need that willpower soon enough.

"Then we keep moving until we reach Elder Warrod.” Erza continued. “There is no time for second guessing. So move quickly and efficiently everyone. Our lives may count on it."

The ground rumbled beneath their feet and the sound of snapping trees reached them through the _Ice-Sphere's_ thick walls. A horrifyingly powerful triple-layered blast of ice came screaming in from all sides of the ice sphere, bringing an end to the planning session.

Erza grit her teeth and shouted a single word. "Go!"

The three mages moved in a synchronized blur. Erza used every ounce of power in her armor to reinforce Gray's sphere and stopped the enemy's attack in its tracks. Cracks wove their way through the barrier, but it held strong.

Then, as she Re-quipped into the orange and red _Flame-Empress_ regalia, Gray shifted his stance and cried out, " _Ice-Make: Hail of Daggers!_ "

The sphere and surrounding ice shattered and became a deadly hail that blasted through the enemy's next wave. Stages one and two of her plan had gone off without a hitch. It was time for stage three.

Erza gripped her sword with one hand above her head and swung it in a complete circle as she yelled out. " _Flame-Slash!_ "

Fire leaped from her sword, flash melting the remaining ice into water. Undeterred by the ice, the flames spewing from her sword continued into the forest unabated, setting toppled trees on fire and further distracting the enemy mage. Stage three was done, and now everything rested in Lucy's hands.

Lucy scrambled from where she had thrown her body to the ground. As the water fell from the melted ice and hit the ground, the young woman swiped her key in it and gave out a shout. " _Gate of the Water Bearer: Open_ _!_ "

But nothing happened. The key had missed the streams of water, and without the water Aquarius could not be summoned.

Erza felt a cold chill run down her back as she saw Lucy's eyes widened in horror. The celestial mage had to summon that spirit! If not, the enemy was going to hit them with an attack they were not prepared to take.

Her head swiveling desperately, Lucy let out a strangled cry and dove at a nearby puddle of muddy water. Shoving the key deep into it with a wet squelch, the blond yelled the words of summoning once again. " _Gate of the Water Bearer: Open_ _!_ "

The resulting flash of light was the most beautiful thing Erza had ever seen. From the radiant beam emerged a beautiful, blue-tailed mermaid being wearing a white and blue bikini top. A cruel smile framed the woman's face as she slowly wiped a splatter of mud away from one eye. Mud which covered her entire body.

A slow and terrifying laugh echoed in the night air as Aquarius began to summon her magic. “Ho-ho-ho.”

Lucy could only gulp as she stared into the spirit's face. Although this had been Erza's plan and Gray's water, it appeared that the water spirit's wrath was focused solely upon her summoner.

"Lady Aquarias," Lucy whimpered softly, "Please punish me with your strongest attack."

Aquarius' smile grew wider. "Luuu-cyyy," the spirit cooed in response. "For summoning me in a puddle of mud I won't just punish you. I'll _kill_ you. I'll kill _all o_ f you!"

Erza sighed and closed her eyes. She would have preferred a more controlled blast, but this would have to suffice.

The torrent of water Aquarius soon blasted them with sent the three mages streaming through the woods, carried away by the spirit of water's summoned tsunami. Away from the enemy and towards their allies.

* * *

Warrod's breathing had begun to slow. With Wendy's absence, Zeref's magic had begun to spread at its former rate. The old mage had tapped into his life's essence in order to reinforce his spell and it was beginning to take a toll.

How Mavis had ever contended with the powerful dark mage Warrod would never know. It was taking his own life just to keep him in check, and Zeref had yet to unleash his full power.

A scent of smoke and blood filled his nostrils as the sound of flapping wings descended upon the spring. Looking behind him, Warrod saw with no small amount of relief that the two dragon slayers had been the first to arrive.

Wendy ran up to him the moment her feet touched the ground, summoning her magic as she moved.

"Master Warrod, please hold still as I reinforce you," the young girl said as she placed her glowing hands a short distance from his back. Strength flowed into Warrod's limbs as her magic flowed into him, slowing Zeref's advance once again while simultaneously rejuvenating Warrod's tired mind.

"Natsu, please keep a watch for the others. It is going to take everything I have just to help Master Warrod keep Zeref sealed."

Natsu punched his right fist into his palm, wincing for a brief moment as he did. Wendy must not have been able to fully heal the man's wounds in the time she had been gone.

"You've got it, Wendy!” Natsu replied. “Happy, Charle, I’ll cover the ground. Get into the air and warn me if anything starts to get close. Got it?"

The two cats acknowledged Natsu's idea and took to the night sky. Warrod lost sight of their small bodies immediately, but knew that they would be nearby.

The elder mage considered his next move as the three members of Fairy Tail moved.

After seeing Natsu's torn up and tattered state Warrod knew that his decision to call them all back was the correct one. Warrod could feel through the plants that the dragon slayer's enemy was closing in on their position – and fast. As were the enemy's distant companions. The fairies were outmatched and outgunned as it was, and it would only get worse with time.

A sudden rumble coming from the tree's on his left cut off his thoughts. Warrod's eyes widened as the cause soon came into view and the elder mage quickly rooted his feet to the ground. He didn't know if it was an attack from their enemies or just a spell gone wrong, but whoever had cast tgeance. The bond between those two was especially strong to Warrod's eyes, with the flavors of childhood and battle mixed together. The woman's rage was built upon a foundation of love and respect for her comrade, which shone through as clear and bright as the noonday sun. It was present within each of the fairies gathered in the springs and transported the elder mage to days long past.

Mavis and her successors had done well in bringing the founders' shared dream to fruition. The elderly mage had seen many things over the years as he rose within the ranks of magic. Many of which were terrible. Many of which were good. Yet he had seen nothing which could outshine the bonds forged between mages of Fairy Tail.

"Erza, please, my head can't do that. It really can't!"

"Hoh. Is that so, Natsu?" Erza muttered darkly.

The redheaded woman had a fearsome look on her face as she used two hands to squish Natsu's head like an overripe grape. The woman briefly let go of him after she spoke and in a shower of light invoked her Re-Quip magic. A sturdy leather whip appeared in her hands as her tone of voice darkened further.

"You dare talk back to me? Know your place!"

Warrod heard the whip snap and winced. _O_ _h well_ , he thought to himself. The boy was young, and from what the old mage had garnered from listening to people such play was only growing in popularity amongst the youngsters these days.

Hm. Thinking of pleasure, Warrod might as well take advantage of the situation to gain some pleasure of his own.

Warrod called out to the boy after the redhead had finished her whipping and began to re-quip other objects with which to torment her now prone friend.

"I have some fruit that could fix that for you later," he told Natsu. “Would you be interested?”

The boy looked up with hope written all over his handsome features. " _Really?_ "

The old mage showed his teeth as he smiled. This was too easy. "No. That was a joke."

“Argh! Don't screw with me you old geezer! I'm seriously going to die right now!”

Warrod's smile widened as he watched Erza bring out a hooked claw from her personal store of weapons. Meanwhile, the young man's face paled even further at the sight of it. It appeared as if the two of them would be well and truly occupied for the next few minutes.

Elsewhere in the pool the ice wizard Gray quietly joined his remaining guild mates, the blonde haired celestial spirit mage named Lucy and Wendy, the young Sky Dragon Slayer with blue hair. For a brief moment nothing happened as the three watched the antics of Erza and Natsu. Then, Lucy screamed and grabbed the blue cat to shield her body.

"Lucy!” The cat spluttered as water splashed his face from the girl's movements. “My body isn't meant to hide your fetishes."

"Shut it, Happy!" The busty blonde responded with a blush. "My body is too young and beautiful to be violated by a pervert like Gray! …And I don't have any fetishes, you stupid cat!"

A flash of light flared into being as those words left the girl's mouth. A celestial spirit, Virgo, if Warrod was any judge of things, popped into view beside Lucy. Clad in a stunning black bathing suit which left little to the imagination, the spirit immediately chimed into the conversation.

"But you do, princess! In fact, you have a multitude of them,” the spirit said flatly. “To begin you have a whip like Erza's and you often undress when -"

" _Forced Gate Closure_ _!_ " Lucy cried out, swiping a key that she produced from beneath the water. The spirit disappeared in another flash of light. "No one asked your opinion!"

Meanwhile Gray scowled at Lucy and gave voice to his displeasure. "Oi, Lucy, stop calling me a pervert, you dumbass. Virgo was right; you're naked almost as often as I am." The dark-haired boy's scowl deepened. "At least I have an excuse; my master trained me this way. You're just a free spirited stripper."

Lucy's head snapped back to face Gray again. "I am not dumb, you pathological stripping pervert. And unlike you I don't strip by choice!" Lucy whined as she desperately tried to find a bush or rock to hide behind. The blue cat had started to struggle in her grasp and no longer covered everything of importance. "Everyone always takes my clothes off. Like that damn pink pervert currently getting punished by Erza."

Happy covered his mouth with one paw. "And yet no one ever touches what's underneath, pffft!"

Warrod gave a hearty, belly deep laugh at that remark. Ah, but those had been the wrong words to say. Lucy's grip visibly firmed as the young woman plunged the blue cat face first into the water. " _Die, Happy, die!_ "

At this point the other two girls, Wendy and the white cat named Charle chimed in as well. The blue-haired girl was worried over Happy's safety, while the cat seemed to be cheering Lucy's actions. Gray, meanwhile, just stared at them all in apparent boredom. _Ah_ , Warrod thought to himself as he watched, _to be young again_.

Warrod was glad that he had sent the mission request to Fairy Tail. His wish to save the village had turned out better than he had thought possible. He had initially requested two who represented the guild's spirit for the mission to save the frozen village. He had instead received not two but seven amazing Fairies.

The antics of Fairy Tail's mages continued under the starry skies. The scarlet haired woman mercilessly beat down her pink-haired companion as the blue-haired girl tried to calm the older woman down. Happy grabbed Lucy's keys and convinced Gemini to play with Gray. Gray tried to run away but knocked Erza down in the middle of her assault on Natsu, forcing the ice mage to share the fire breather's gruesome fate. Warrod stepped in with a rock, offering it to whomever proved themselves worthy of his three tests. All of the young mages stared at him uneasily until he announced that it was a joke. Then they tried to drown him.

The mages laughed and played in the steaming water for what felt like an eternity. They fought and they cried as they spoke, telling stories of dreams shared and comrades gained deep into the night. They were Fairy Tail, the guild filled with bonds of golden fire.

* * *

The laughter shared between them almost made Warrod miss the vanishing of a spell-ward. For a moment he hesitated. Then a second ward fell and a third soon after, leaving only five intact. Whoever, or whatever, it was, they were moving fast. Warrod had never felt anything like it.

By the time he was able to make contact with the first ward's remaining essence a fourth ward had failed. Yet the wards had served one of their purposes and Warrod now knew the identity of the wizard who was removing them.

It was Zeref. The most powerful dark wizard this world had ever known and the man who had taught Fairy Tail's founders how to wield magic so many years ago. Nearly a hundred years had passed since those days, but there were some magical presences one never grew too old to remember.

Warrod stood up, his back suddenly as straight as a metal rod, and stepped out of the spring, stretching his senses throughout the plants of his abode. With Zeref coming towards him, ripping apart powerful wards as though they were nothing, Warrod had to move quickly.

To make matters worse, the old mage could feel multiple other beings, each reeking of their own dark magic, closing in on the house as well. They were a ways off yet, but were approaching quickly. Warrod stretched his sense to their limit, trying to get a better handle on the situation.

Two were close to Zeref's location. One of the presences felt of fire. The other one felt of ice. Both were in close proximity to each other. As for the others... Warrod could not grasp their numbers or abilities, and that worried him. They were scattered in every direction and creeping closer at a constant rate, and if Warrod judged it correctly, were moving together in an organized pattern.

Warrod felt his spirit begin to drop. The only reason for such a maneuver was to cut off any avenue of escape from those caught within its grasp. If he and those with him were to try and escape then it was likely that the net would constrict around them, stopping or slowing their movements. If Zeref caught up to them in such a situation there would be little chance of survival.

Even Warrod, one of the so-called ‘Four Gods of Ishgar’, the four mightiest mages in all of Fiore, was as nothing before the might of Zeref.

With that thought chief in mind, Warrod took final stock of his options. None of which looked particularly grand.

Neither fight nor flight would work in this situation. The first would result in their annihilation. The second would turn into the first after only a short while and inevitably lead to the same conclusion.

Warrod needed a third option, and thanks to his old friend Mavis, such an option existed.

Warrod made his choice and pulled his consciousness back into his body. Time was of the essence.

He turned his attention to the young mages splashing around and clapped his hands together. Amplified with magic, the booming sound of his hands cut through the night air.

"Mages," Warrod snapped grimly. "Gather to me. Enemies approach and there is not much time."

A pause filled the air, soon broken by Gray and Natsu's muttering in sync with one another.

"Huh? This isn't one of your lame jokes now, is it? You senile old fart," They said in unison.

Warrod spared a brief moment to curse his sense of humor but moved on quickly. He could not allow their disbelief to slow them down any further.

"This is not a joke,” Warrod said grimly. If he couldn't convince them with words alone, he would also use his tone. “Now, move!”

Using his tone seemed to have worked, for the remaining merriment in left their as his words sunk in.

Erza was the first to react. Re-quipping a silver battle suit upon her skin, the young woman moved to Warrod's side with the savage grace of a warrior heading into battle. The others followed suit quickly, with young Natsu giving a growl and a short yell of ' _bring it on, bastards_ ' as Lucy grabbed his white scarf from a nearby rock. The blonde haired girl ran to his side and handed the boy his scarf, joining Gray and the others in a line behind Erza as she completed the transaction.

Warrod glanced around, judging their combined powers once more and reaching the same unhappy conclusion. The strength gathered in this spring was not great enough to stand against the approaching threat. It was not even close. The dark mage would rip through the members of Fairy Tail like a sword slicing through paper, and Warrod himself could not hope to withstand the dark mage's powers for any length of time.

The only path forward was the one forged by Mavis.

From her spot in line Lucy muttered as she held a small towel pressed against her body. "Natsu, Gray, don't you dare look at Wendy or me. Keep your eyes shut until we find some clothes."

Gray shook his head in annoyance. “Like I said earlier, Lucy,” the dark haired man spoke, “it's nothing we haven't seen before. But there's something more important at the moment.”

The boy turned his attention to Warrod. “Hey, you old geezer, are you sure that something bad is headed our way? I can't sense a thing out there.”

"Yes, young one, I am certain indeed." Warrod said sadly. How he wished that he could tell them otherwise. "The time for jokes is over. Zeref is coming, and I only know of one way to defend against him. I must use Mavis' spell of ultimate defense, _Fairy Sphere_."

The faces of the mages grew pale. Natsu and Erza looked angered while both Wendy and Lucy jerked their hands out of the grasps of their friends. Warrod had expected to get a reaction out of them, but not anything like this.

"No," Wendy said in a horrified tone. The girl pressed both hands to her mouth as her eyes grew wide. "Not that. Please don't use that spell. We don't need to leave our comrades behind again. Abandoning our comrades for seven long years... I-I don't know if I could do it to everyone else a second time."

“So that's what happened on Tenrou Island,” Warrod murmured to himself. The young girl's words made him hesitate as the pieces of a long unsolved puzzle began to coalesce. If _Fairy Sphere_ had been used on Tenrou Island, and Zeref had awakened, then it was likely that the first master had also awakened.

If only she was nearby, maybe they would have stood a chance.

Erza took Warrod's silence voice her own opinion.

"Elder,” she said forcefully. “Respectfully, sir, I believe that spell cannot be our only option. With our powers combined, and you leading us as our captain, we could fight anything on this planet."

Natsu's nostrils flared with flame as he agreed with the redheaded mage at his side. "Hell yeah! No way is there a single mage on this planet who could stop us. Hell, we could take on a dragon with Wendy and me! Even Ice-pants, Charle, and Happy would chip in if something like that happened.”

Gray raised an eyebrow at the other man's words. “Don't make me freeze your dick off, Natsu.”

“Aw, shut it Gray. Besides," Natsu said. "I owe Zeref for damaging my scarf. No way am I letting him walk off easy after he almost broke Igneel's gift to me."

"Aye, sir!"

"Ha! Tell 'em Happy!"

For a moment, as Warrod stared into their eyes, the old mage allowed himself to believe that they might be right.

Touched by their dedication and spirit, he reconsidered his options. Zeref, for all his power, was not omnipotent. Perhaps he was wrong and they could triumph after all. Maybe Mavis' predictions were wrong, and the young Fairies had grown strong enough to handle this great test.

Then a slow, steady clap filled the air, gripping Warrod's heart with its steady beat. Its sound signified that they had waited too long.

"Well spoken, Natsu. I would expect no less from the son of Igneel," spoke a calm, light-hearted voice. “But you have failed to live up to my expectations, and alas, events force me to hasten my plans.”

It was Zeref who spoke as he stood at the doorway to Warrod's home. Clad in dark robes, the man looked as though he had not aged a day since Warrod had last seen him.

Stopping his clap, the dark mage stretched out his hands towards the group of Fairies. The air began to hum with power. The look of utter calm never left his eyes as the magic of death flowed forth towards the Fairies. "Die."

" _Get down_!" Warrod cried out. Gathering every ounce of energy he possessed, the ancient mage summoned a wall of wood to block Zeref's deadly magic. A barrier formed of life to block Zeref's magic of death, and a spell passed onto Warrod by the very mage he now strove to defeat.

The wall shot upwards from the ground faster than the eye could follow. Great trunks and boughs ripped through the ground, sending shards of stone shooting through the air as the stone flooring was torn apart. A hiss of pain from behind him told Warrod that at least one stone shard had found its way into someone's skin.

Yet it was a price the elder mage was willing to pay. For the wall he had summoned held firm against Zeref's dark spell.

"Not bad, Warrod," Zeref called out from behind the wooden barrier. The man's magic welled up again as the dark mage gathered his strength for another attack. "But this wall of wood will not save you for long."

With a thrum Warrod felt in his body, the dark mage's attack redoubled its efforts.

The elder wood mage threw his arms wide and forced the wall to change. It would not last the way it was, and to contain the dark magic assaulting it a new form was needed. Warrod shaped the magic, and just before his barrier collapsed, finished the spell. A flash of green light filled the hot-spring as the magic took effect.

From the wall's sturdy trunks grew a cage of branches which quickly stretched around the dark magus. Their brown limbs flew outwards before wrapping inside, trapping Zeref within their embrace as they entwined. The power contained within them would reduce the flow of magic to the one trapped within their embrace. It would hopefully buy Warrod and the others time they would need to cast Fairy Sphere.

As Warrod's spell reached completion the ground beneath the cage began to cave in. Zeref had redirected his magic and now sought to undo the spell at its roots. With sweat dripping down his face, Warrod forced his spell's roots to surge out, racing against Zeref's power. As Zeref unmade Warrod's spell, Warrod constantly remade it. Their two magics, magics of life and death, struggled against one another for supremacy in a back and forth which would end in one of their deaths. The one with the greater stamina would win this fight. Something that Warrod feared was, for the first time in decades, not in his favor.

Suddenly fire and ice flashed around his back, flaring so bright and fast that Warrod had no time to react. The spells struck behind Warrod's back, drawing a pained cry from the cat Charle and sending at least one other to the ground in a meaty thud. Warrod flinched as flames touched his right shoulder before quickly disappearing. The ice spell's cold lingered longer, chilling his left side.

Those Warrod had sensed following behind Zeref had just made their presence known.

"Dammit!" Natsu yelled beside the elderly mage; the young man had most likely been the cause of the fire's disappearance, using the potent magic of his dragon father to devour the flames of his enemy. "That blast came too fast to get all of it. You guys okay?"

Murmurs of assent came, but Warrod couldn't tell who it was speaking. He twisted his head back to take a look.

Thankfully none of them seemed to be wounded.

The young blonde Lucy, along with the two cats, were picking themselves off of the ground and touching their singed hair. The three of them looked shaken up but healthy. Standing above them, the ice mage Gray gave a shudder. A dozen spear points of ice were halted a fingers width distance from his face, stopped only by a sword held in Erza's hand.

The redhead appeared to have cut into the ice in midstream, forcing it to split and halting its momentum long enough for the dark-haired ice mage to completely end the assault. Both she and the other girl, Wendy, looked to be untouched by the twin assaults.

"We're okay Natsu." Gray said as he shattered the spears of ice trapping Erza's blade. The dark-haired man's head swiveled around as he looked into the night. "Did anyone see where that shit came from?"

Natsu and the rest shook their heads, but it seemed that one of the youngsters had seen the sources of the twin attacks.

Erza lifted her newly freed sword and pointed towards the sides of Warrod's house. Her voice rang out as with authority as she called out instructions.

"There, and there, one man on each side. The blast of Ice came from the left while the fire came in from the right. Split up and take them out; we're too concentrated in our current position. Leave the center to Wendy, Charle and I. Everyone else; pick a partner and move out."

“Alright Happy, let's move out!”

“Rodger that, Natsu!”

“Then that leaves you and me, Lucy.”

“Argh! Fine. Just as long as you keep your eyes pointed forwhe spell had clearly lost control of it.

A gigantic tidal wave of water was spilling from the forest, crashing into the hot-spring and flooding the surrounding area. As it hit, Warrod heard Natsu give a strange cry of joy that was soon cut off by the water's torrential downpour.

The wave crashed over and through the area. Trunks of destroyed trees swept through, and Warrod's body was battered by rocks. The roar of the water filled his ears as his body was surrounded by the wave. His rooted feet tethered Warrod's body against the storm of water until it passed.

Once it did, the sound of several muttered coughs came from behind Warrod's back. More coughing than Natsu and Wendy could have made on their own.

"Wendy," the wood mage rasped, feeling this throat rip under the strain of his own voice as he uprooted his feet, "is everyone present?"

One of the voices stopped coughing for a moment. "Yes, Master Warrod." A slight pause. "They're wet, but seem to be okay. Natsu, please check them to make sure."

As she finished, one of the coughing voices suddenly rose in pitch.

"Natsu! Please stop pushing Gray's head deeper into that puddle of water!"

“The bastard deserved it, Wendy. His goddamn naked body slammed into me! I'm scarred for life!”

“Natsu! _No!_ Killing him is still a bad thing to do.”

A shudder ran through Warrod's body as the exchange continued. There wasn't much strength left in him. Zeref's magic was close to breaking through and there would be nothing he could do to stop the dark mage from killing them all.

It was time to begin casting _Fairy Sphere_.

Warrod took a deep breath and began to speak. He needed to gain their attention quickly. "Mages of Fairy Tail, gather around me and hold hands. But close the circle only when I remove my hands from the barrier."

The mages moved slowly as they tried to rid themselves from the effects of the giant wave.

As they moved around him, jostling for position, Warrod could hear crashing noises coming from all sides. The ones the mages had been fighting were making their move, and their other comrades were moments away at best.

Warrod wished that Mavis had been present for this battle, even if it had only been in spirit. Maybe she could have found a way out of this battle that he had not. Alas, it was only him, and he only knew this one way.

Warrod ripped his arms from the barrier with a savage cry and stepped backwards. The severed stumps of his hands stayed behind as he did.

Natsu closed the gap and came to stand across from Warrod's shuddering body, holding tightly to Erza and Gray. Gray held one of Happy's paws while Erza gripped Charle's paw tightly, and they in turn joined hands with Wendy and Lucy. Lucy and Wendy then placed their hands on top of Warrod's forearms, and with that final action the circle was complete.

Warrod felt their energy flow into him, providing the power to unleash one of Fairy Tail's three great magics. Gathered like this, with their power combined, it took only a moment to cast.

" _Fairy Sphere!_ "

The spell flashed into existence just as the wooden barrier broke under Zeref's power. Its holy glow suffused the area, bathing the land in a white light that clashed with Zeref's dark might. The two strove against one another, with Zeref seeking to destroy and Warrod seeking to protect. On top of this came spells cast from the dark wizard's minions, turning the hot springs behind Warrod's house into a vortex of destruction.

Yet from the moment the clash began Warrod sensed that something was wrong. There was a mesh of energies which threatened to undo _Fairy Sphere_ before it could be completed, something that Warrod had never encountered before.

Zeref's dark magic and the power of his cursed minions churned against _Fairy Sphere's_ holy power. They attacked the essence of the spell, seeking to undo its most basic components. Warrod focused his mind, willing the energies to hold and forcing them along their proper paths. For an instant it looked like he would fail, that Zeref would have his way.

Then a third force interfered.

Somehow Celestial magic began to leak into _Fairy Sphere_ from Lucy's body. It's powerful nature began, which had defied mortal knowledge since eons past, began to override Warrod's will. The young girl's head was thrown back as it happened, as the power of the celestial realm burned through her system.

As Fairy Tail's magic of light and Zeref's magic of darkness struggled for dominance, the Celestial magic transformed the spell and its intended function. Multidimensional energies joined with the spell's space-time matrix, creating something new and unknown.

As the spell activated and darkness took his eyes, Warrod knew that something had gone wrong beyond his power to fix. The spell which had finally activated was not the _Fairy Sphere_ spell created by Mavis, but something new and completely different.

Warrod had failed the world. He had failed Mavis. But worst of all, as darkness took him, he knew that he had failed the young fairies who had depended on him for survival.

Then he knew no more, and with a flash of silver light, the area around Warrod's home was emptied. None escaped the spell's power, and the battle that had been raging came to an end.

All that remained were stones and trees as the moon shone on a broken home.

* * *

Natsu awoke to a black, starry sky. The stars which shone above were strange and different; he did not know them.

A shudder of pain tore through him as his eyes widened in confusion. It was so intense that it threatening to send him back to oblivion, but Natsu refused to give in to it. His friends had to be somewhere nearby, and if Natsu was hurting this badly, then they might have been hurt even worse.

As he lay and fought against the pain, Natsu heard the voices of two young girls and a young boy, none of which he recognized. They were agitated, with the pitch sounding high and fearful.

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong, and if he stayed down then he would be unable to fix whatever was going on nearby.

Slowly, Natsu stood up. The pain from his wounds was still there, as was a whirling sense of vertigo, but the dragon slayer pushed it aside. He had felt worse and would be damned if he let a few aches and pains stopped him. He knew that Gray and Gajeel wouldn't have let it stop them, and there was no way that Natsu would let them beat him in toughness. It took a few seconds, but eventually Natsu felt his senses return to normal.

He could still hear the voices of the two girls and some others in the distance. As he gazed around, he could tell that he was in a forest, one where the foliage was less dense than the one by Warrod's house.

Natsu sniffed the air. It smelled different too, with the odors of different plants and animals mixed in with other, more metallic smells that Natsu had never encountered in his life.

It only added to his confusion. _Fairy Sphere_ had transported him into the future and buried him under a pile of dirt and rocks last time it was activated, but it had also kept him in the same general area where it had been activated. Instead, this time it seemed to have transported him to somewhere he had never been, and Natsu had no idea if any of his friends had been transported with him.

He didn't see them and he couldn't pick up their scents. The thought of being separated caused a dagger of fear to drive into Natsu's heart. For while he could handle himself in a pinch the same was not true of all his guild-mates.

Then a burst of dark magic washed over him from the direction of the voices and Natsu sensed the magic like that of Zeref. A shot of adrenaline hit his body, instantly banishing the pain.

Natsu then set off on a quick pace to join the distant fight. There was no way he would miss out on a chance to sock the smug smile right of that bastard's evil looking face.

**END**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** The following story is a fan made work of fiction. _Fairy Tail_ and _Mahou Sensei Negima!_ are owned and written by Hiro Mashima and Ken Akamatsu respectively. Please support their official releases.

**Chapter 2**

**The Trials of Natsu**

Asuna cried out in pain as a demon's bladed weapon drew a thin line of blood across her left shoulder. The horrid being's pig-like snout curved in ecstasy, snarling in joy as it licked the newly blooded weapon.

There was only one way to respond to something like that.

"Get off of me, you sick monster!" She yelled out. She swung her magic canceling fan as she did, putting the full force of her anger and pain behind the strike. The blow caught the demon across its smiling mouth, dispelling the summoning magic which bound it, and sending it back to whatever demonic plane it called home.

The orange-haired teen gave a snort of satisfaction. She might not possess Setsuna's wondrous grace, but what Asuna lacked in skill she made up for with determination.

Still, determination aside, Asuna felt worn out. She and Setsuna had been fighting the demons for almost fifteen minutes straight, and the non-stop movement was starting to take its toll.

Breathing hard, Asuna stumbled backwards in the pool of shallow water that covered the ground. The shallow water covering this area was making it difficult to fight. What had initially been an annoyance was quickly turning into a mud-filled nightmare.

Steadying herself by thrusting her fan into the ground, Asuna caught a glimpse of Setsuna to her side. The black-haired teen's sword a blur as it slashed out to her left, decapitating a nearby demon. The creature's body disappeared as its summoning spell was broken by the swordswoman's magic.

Breathing heavily as well, Setsuna had a wide-eyed look of confusion on her face mirroring what Asuna figured must be on her own. Seeing it did not make Asuna feel any better. Asuna was the novice, and feeling confused was what she was supposed to do. But Setsuna was an expert in this sort of thing. If she were confused then they were probably in serious trouble.

"Hey, Setsuna-san, what gives?!" Asuna called out. "A minute ago these guys were perverts, chasing me around, trying to rip my skirt off! Now they're trying to rip my head off!”

"I do not know, Asuna-san. I have never encountered something like this in all my time as a Shinmei-Ryu swordsman,” Setsuna replied. “I have encountered both perverted demons, and demons with an insatiable lust for blood, but never have I seen one turn into the other with such suddenness.”

The other teen's confused gaze narrowed as she spoke, settling into an icy calm that Asuna had never before seen. Setsuna's breathing slowed as her gaze sharpened, and in moments it was like the girl had never even been fighting in the first place. Were it not for the fact that they were still surrounded, and that Setsuna's once pristine uniform was ripped and torn in places, Asuna might have sworn that that was exactly the case.

Maybe it was because the other girl was used to this sort of thing, because Asuna was still unable to catch her breath at all. Even with the pause they had just bought for themselves by killing those last two demons, Asuna was unable to calm herself down. Her hands shook with energy and she could feel her heart pounding inside her chest.

To make matters worse, she couldn't stop herself from thinking about Konoka and Negi. She and Setsuna were just buying time for their teacher to reach Konoka, and had no way of knowing how things were going. For all they knew, Negi could be close to reaching Konoka that very moment.

That, or Negi had run into that weird white-haired boy again. In which case, the kid was probably fighting for his tiny little life.

Damn! If that was actually happening then the boy had better be victorious. Because if Negi screwed up and got them all killed... then as sure as hell had fire, Asuna would haunt his ass for all eternity. She had allowed the kid to bring them all out here and had trusted that he would be able to save their friend.

And if the worst did happen, and that damn brat did get them all killed, haunting his miniscule ass for eternity would be only the beginning of her revenge.

“Ah. I think that I understand what happened.”

The sound of Setsuna's voice brought Asuna's increasingly angry line of thought to a screeching halt. The other girl understood something? Huh? Had Setsuna been talking this entire time? _Dammit_ , Asuna thought to herself, I _really need to pay better attention when the smart people are speaking_.

“Thinking back, Asuna-san,” Setsuna continued. “I did feel something happen a short time ago, some sort of magical resonance, shortly before the change occurred, and it coincided with the enemy's change in demeanor. Although it is just conjecture at this point, my guess is that the resonance I described has caused this change to occur. Although I feel unchanged, as you appear to be as well. That is most curious, especially considering my own... situation."

Asuna blinked in confusion. Her brow furrowed as she tried her best to understand what the other girl had just said. Setsuna's speech had sounded smart and probably would have meant something to Negi, but Asuna was still just a newbie when it came to magic.

After a few second of thinking about it she was still confused. She decided to give Setsuna a confused shrug in response.

"I don't get it," Asuna said, and it was the heartfelt truth. First, magical kids; then bloodsucking, chibi vampires; and now schizophrenic demons? She hadn't experienced a lot of magic, but what she had experienced was utterly bizarre and had taught her to just go with the flow.

"But basically, uh, something happened and now they're different, right?"

Setsuna nodded. "Correct. Furthermore, unless I am completely off and there are other factors involved as well, it seems that whatever the resonance was intended to accomplish, it has also made the demons more powerful."

Asuna slapped her forehead with her free hand at that revelation.

"Great! Just what we need.” she yelled angrily. “On top of some crazy sorceress kidnapping Konoka, a super-powerful little emo boy who can turn people to stone and Negi leaving us to go fight the emo boy, we now have a bunch of powered-up demons that want to kill us!" She threw her hands into the air. "Fantastic!"

“Indeed. I hope that sensei is not running into similar entanglements on his end. Otherwise, things might prove to be too much, even for him.”

Her lips pursed tightly whenever she stopped speaking, Setsuna looked to be just as worried as Asuna felt. Yet the other girl's eyes never stopped roving the enemy's lines, and her battle stance never wavered in the slightest.

A sigh escaped Setsuna's lips. “But sensei will have to deal with the enemy on his own. I hate to say it, Asuna-san, but we may be in trouble. Our foes still have us surrounded despite the losses we inflicted in the earlier engagement, and, although I do not know why, they seem content to let us make the first move.”

Aha! Screw the magical resonance crap. Asuna had understood that last part, and with it came a sense of exhilaration. Magical theory was beyond her, but dealing with a bunch of assholes who were too scared to start a fight? That she could handle.

Asuna gripped her fan with both hands tightly and gave Setsuna a fierce grin.

“Bah!” Asuna exclaimed. “If that's the case, then let's take the fight to them.”

She looked around, searching the enemy’s lines for someone to go after. When you wanted to start a fight, picking the first target to go after was the most important part. You had to pick someone who was weak, or someone who was quick to anger. Best of all was if you could find someone who was an idiot and was both weak and quick to anger.

After looking over the ranks of demons surrounding her and Setsuna, Asuna felt that she had found a target. She lowered her fan in the demon's direction and raised her voice to taunt him.

"Hey spit-face! I see you looking at me. Yeah, you, the ugly one who looks like a pile of rotting bacon. You want a piece of this? You want my blood and flesh? Well too bad! All you'll ever get is a peek, because a coward like you isn't tough enough to take me down."

Her little speech ended, Asuna used her free hand to pull down the lower half of her eyelid as she jeered at the enemy.

The demon in question grinned nastily at Asuna's remarks. Sharp yellow tusks jutted out from cracked lips as bloody rivulets joined the drool. The massive monster was wielding a spike club covered in dirt, and its mismatched armor could have come from the junkpile of a medieval European museum.

_Oh, gross!_ Asuna thought to herself as the creature began to move towards her position. Picking a fight with it may not have been her best move after all. She knew that she and Setsuna could handle the beast, but the more she looked at it the more Asuna just wanted it to go away. _That thing looks like Chamo's inner self! It_ _is_ _Chamo, it's Demon Chamo!_

Unfortunately, it seemed that the rest of the demons had been waiting for something like this to happen. Moving as one the entire group of demons charged the two girls in absolute silence. A silence broken only by the jangle of weapons and armor, and the splash of water beneath their deformed feet.

The battle was on, and as the savage horde rushed towards them the girls met it with a charge of their own.

Asuna caught spit-face under his jaw with her fan. The magical tool nullified the demon's power and sent the creature back to the demonic plane in an instant. To Asuna's side, Setsuna slashed the pig man's snake faced partner and the next two behind it with a single cut. The special techniques of the Shinmei-ryu sword style cut a swath of destruction through the enemy’s lines, annihilating the demons faster than Asuna thought possible. The other girl's strength was unreal!

But Asuna had no time to dwell on it as the next group of demons was quickly upon them. Asuna slammed her fan onto the outstretched arm of a tentacle demon with a powerful downward blow, drawing a silent roar of pain from its lips as the creature disappeared. Continuing the downward strike and gaining momentum as she did Asuna whipped her fan up and to the right, batting away another demon's club and crashing it into the thigh of a third just like a batter hitting a baseball.

She had no idea how her power worked, but so long as it allowed her to cut through the demonic ranks with ease and keep up with the skilled girl beside her, Asuna didn't really care.

The two girls fought against the larger demons with everything they had. At one point, cut off from Asuna by a short and bony demon that moved like lightning, Setsuna stabbed her sword through its throat and twisted. The creature died with a brief gurgle, its body hitting the ground with a thud and splashing Setsuna with water.

Yet in death the monster nearly had its revenge. The bony creature had managed to grip Setsuna's sword with one of its powerful claws right before the girl was able to twist and pull it out. Unable to withstand the pressure, the blade snapped off just above the sword's hilt. Setsuna lost her balance, stumbling to her left as it happened.

Asuna felt a dagger of fear plunge itself into her heart. Surrounded and cut off, there was no way she would be able to make it to the other girl in time. Asuna swatted at the demons around her; attempting to defy fate and keep their attention away from the off-balance swordswoman. But in the end it was useless, the enemy had also seen Setsuna's sword break. They surged in, redoubling the pressure on Asuna and buying time for their comrades to finish the black-haired swordswoman.

Unfortunately for them, just because her sword was broken did not mean that Setsuna was unarmed. Abandoning the broken blade without a moment's hesitation, the dark-haired girl thrust her free hand into her torn shirt, drawing from within its tattered confines her brand new pactio card.

It was the one Setsuna had made with Negi just before the boy had left, and even though its powers were still a mystery, its presence meant that the swordswoman could keep fighting.

A piercing yell cut across the battlefield, echoing with magic as Setsuna cried out for her pactio to gift her with its artifact, “ _Adeat_ ”

The card disappeared in a flash of light, exchanging its form for that of Setsuna's new magic tool. A small wakizashi now lay gripped in both of her hands, while fourteen more hung in the air around the teen swordswoman. With a wordless cry of rage, Setsuna sent the encircling blades zipping into the crowd of demons as she made her way back to Asuna's side.

Together they fought in a mindless fury, dodging blows and cutting down their foes. The two girls never stopped moving, because even Asuna realised that the moment they were to get bogged down would be the moment they had lost.

Setsuna cut the ranks with devastating swipes of her sword, and at her side Asuna punished any demon that tried to get too close. Yet no matter how many demons they killed, more would always come into view.

As the fight wore on, Asuna knew that they couldn't keep this up forever. Either the demons would run out of bodies or the girls would run out of energy, and as Asuna heaved in air through tired lungs she knew which possibility was more likely.

"Setsuna-san, we need to make a break for the forest," Asuna yelled as she smashed another demon across the back of its legs. “We'll get creamed if we stay down here much longer.”

Setsuna nodded her assent as she stabbed her dual blades into the armpits of a short, masked demon. Swiping a once white sleeve across her face to mop up the sweat and water dripping into her eyes, the dark-haired girl used the other arm to indicate a specific direction.

“Asuna-san, get behind me and follow close. We'll only have one shot at this.”

“Got it. Let's go!”

Asuna matched action to words and placed herself behind Setsuna as the dark-haired girl darted in the direction she had indicated. On her tail, Asuna did her best to keep up with Setsuna's speed.

Between their artifacts and righteous anger the two teenaged girls pushed their way through the crowd of enemies. They made it to the forest's edge in under a minute, and as Setsuna dealt with the last one in their way Asuna could see a demon free forest's edge. The twin-tailed girl passed Setsuna as she finished off one of her two opponents. With no other demons even close to catching up to them, escape was theirs for the taking.

Asuna was out of the water and only a few short steps away from reaching the forest's raised embankment when a cry rang out from Setsuna.

Turning around, Asuna saw that Setsuna's last opponent had locked its massive sword with Setsuna's two wakizashi. The smaller blades had gotten hooked by the bigger blade's serrated edges. The wolf-man wielding the large sword used its leverage to pin Setsuna's hands against her body, and in one, brutally quick, move forced the black-haired girl to the ground.

Barely keeping her face above the ankle deep water, Setsuna was snarling and trying to push back the much bigger demon. Her right leg kicked out at the monster's shin as she kept the fiend's giant sword from digging into her.

" _Setsuna-san_ ," Asuna yelled as she dashed back to her friend. They had managed to come so far and do so well. There was no way Asuna was letting the damn demons get her friend when the two of them were so close to getting away.

She raised her fan and prepared to slam it into the demon's ugly face. "Get away from her, you great bloody -"

A bellowing roar cut her off, and in a moment Asuna's world was enshrouded by flame.

A massive blast of fire shot out of the forest, sweeping across the demon's upper body and setting it alight. For the first time since the resonance had taken place, one of the monsters released an anguished scream of pained fury. It flung itself into the water, rolling over and over as it screamed. A long moment passed before the creature stopped moving, its body lying still in the ankle deep water before finally disappearing.

Asuna stared in macabre fascination at the spot where the demon had just died. The monsters had remained silent when she and Setsuna had hit them, but those flames seemed to be different. The scream the demon had let out when the flames touched it had been horrifying, chilling the young girl to the bone and making goosebumps appear on her arms.

"Asuna-san, behind you!"

Setsuna's voice snapped Asuna back to reality. Looking over her shoulder, Asuna flung herself down as another gout of fire, even bigger than the first blast, lanced out from behind her.

This blast swept across the water's surface, moving across the demonic horde's front and lancing deep into its ranks. The monsters released a horrifying, howling chorus as the fire ravaged their bodies. More blasts of flame followed it, coming in rapid fire until every last demon was set alight.

Asuna kept her body buried in the warming water the entire time, hoping that Setsuna was doing the same. As she pressed herself into the muddy water, Asuna hoped that whoever or whatever was sending these blasts was on their side.

She did not know how long it took, but eventually the howls of the demons died down. The crackle of burning embers filled Asuna's ears as she slowly raised her gaze. Quickly locating a wide-eyed Setsuna, the two girls shared a look with one another as they raised their bodies out of the lukewarm water.

Nothing remained of the demons they had been fighting only a minute ago. Motes of fine ash drifted through the air as branches and trees hit by the fire continued to burn. Asuna touched one of the motes with a finger. It broke apart instantly.

Her throat clogged as she caught Setsuna's eye once again, the same unspoken question in both of their eyes. What sort of sorcerer was capable of such a thing, and more importantly, was that person on their side or were they an enemy?

Asuna opened her mouth to say it aloud when she saw Setsuna's face turn beet red. The other girl, usually so calm and stoic, raised a shaking hand as she pointed behind Asuna. Dreading what might be able to rattle the veteran swordswoman; Asuna turned her head and looked. She felt her heart stop for as she did, shortly followed by a creeping flush she could feel even through the heat of the burning trees.

Standing in front of her was a grinning, pink-haired young man. He was holding one arm out with a flaming thumb-up as a crown of smoke threaded its way through his short, wild hair. However, neither his flaming thumb, nor his wild hair were what had caused her heart to stop and her face to flush. The reason was because the man was completely naked. Other than a scaly scarf he wore tied around his neck, the man was naked as the day he was born.

As she stood still, her body frozen by the absurdity of the scene unfolding right in front of her, Asuna thought faintly to herself that she could it.

She could see everything.

* * *

Natsu grinned at the two girls in front of him. After awakening and hearing the sounds of their fight the dragon slayer had made his way to the battlefield as quickly as his legs could carry him. He had arrived in time to save the dark-haired girl from getting killed by some sort of beast, and man did he feel good. Being able to let loose and devastate the enemy after he had gotten smacked around by that Jackal guy was a good pick up for Natsu's mood.

Even better, the two girls seemed to be alright, although the dark-haired one did look a little bloody and the bell wearing chick looked a little faint. Oh well, Natsu was used to that sort of look. A lot of people were often struck silent by the awesomeness that was him.

"Pretty awesome, right?" Natsu said as he beamed proudly. If the two girls weren't going to talk then he might as well introduce himself. "My name is Natsu, Natsu Dragneel. And since I kicked the asses of those ugly demon guys, could the two of you help me out? Some of my friends are missing and I’m trying to find them. Have either of you seen them?"

When neither of them answered him, Natsu scratched his head and frowned. Had his blasts made them deaf? If so then that might make things difficult. It had happened to him before and generally resulted in hours of lost time due to miscommunication.

Natsu cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled louder. Yelling louder was his preferred method of communicating in this situation. "Oi! You two. Are you listening to me? No?"

Still they didn't respond. Huh. Yelling that loudly generally provoked a wide range of reactions, but stunned silence was a new one. Maybe they were in shock or something.

Stopping the flow of fire to his mouth and fists, Natsu hopped a little closer to their position to see if he could help them out. He didn't know much about medicine or fixing wounds – he left that sort of thing to Wendy – but he could at least tell if someone was suffering from a head injury. Head knocks were common results of Fairy Tail brawls and everyone in the guild knew how to look for the signs.

The orange-haired girl wearing bells in her hair blushed as red as a sun when he approached, her eyes dilating wide before she covered her face with both hands. She was probably fine if her eyes could do that, so Natsu turned to the dark-haired girl.

Judging from the ways she held her weapons she seemed to be a more experienced combatant. The short skirt and tattered shirt didn't seem to be bloody either, hinting that she was good enough to avoid most blows before they made contact with her skin. Examining her as he approached, Natsu thought she too was fine. Although for some reason she too blushed red as he moved closer.

Eh, it probably wasn't important. He might as well try talking to them for a third time.

"Let's try this again," the dragon slayer said in a boisterous tone. "My name is Natsu and I just kicked some serious ass. Nice to meet ya!"

He stuck out his hand to her and brought back his smile. "Come on, just shake my hand already. I promise not to bite ya."

After a silent moment the dark-haired girl dematerialized one of her swords and timidly shook his hand. Natsu made note of it. Thanks to Erza, any woman wielding a sword made him nervous. If she was even a tenth as good as Erza then Natsu needed to respect her ability.

"There," Natsu said as she shook his hand, "was that so hard?"

Still wide eyed and flushed, the girl said something in a soft voice. He didn't understand a word of it and cocked his head to the side. “Huh? What'd you just say?”

The girl repeated her words and he still didn't understand. Whatever she was saying seemed to be in a completely different language and hearing it repeated by the girl for a third time made him frown.

Before he could try to investigate any further, though, the girl used her free hand to point down. Out of curiosity, he followed her and looked down, where he saw his junk hanging freely in the night's soft breeze. His first and only thought was probably obvious to both of the flush-faced girls, whose reaction he now completely understood.

" _Ehhhhhh!_ " Natsu screamed in shock.

Dropping the chick's hand and hiding his exposed lower half, Natsu took off running like a bat out of hell. Letting his friends see him naked was one thing. Running around naked in public was another.

"I'm not like Lucy, I'm not like Gray, I'm not like Lucy, I'm not like Gray," Natsu yelled as he streaked away from the two girls he had saved just moments ago, running along the edge of the strange forest. "Where did my pants go? Ah! I left them in the old geezer's house. Dammit you old bastard, why couldn't you let me dress first?" Natsu desperately looked around for something he could use to clothe himself and saw absolutely nothing. "Where's that gorilla spirit when you need her! Clothes, I want _clothes_!"

There was nothing on the forest's edge, and the clothes Natsu had seen those weird creatures wearing were either ash or dissolved particles of magic. Damn! That meant that the easy way was out. Moving on to backup measures, Natsu spotted some tightly bunched bushes with rather full looking leaves a short ways into the forest.

He took off in their direction. He'd seen Gray string leaves together to form makeshift clothes so often that Natsu knew how to do it as well. Still repeating his mantra at the top of his lungs, Natsu sped for the bush and jumped into it at full force.

As he slammed into the ground with crashing thud several things immediately occurred to Natsu. First, bushes in the wilderness didn't usually have wooden frames and wire in them. Second, the ground behind the bush wasn't nearly as hard as it should have been; it was actually quite soft and squishy. Third and most importantly, he could feel something hard and metallic jabbing into an area that was never meant to have something hard and metallic shoved into it. All of these things signified that Natsu had just made a horrible mistake, and if past experiences were anything to go by Natsu would soon be suffering the consequences of it.

He slowly raised his head from the pair of soft, fleshy mounds that had broken his fall and looked into a woman's furious, unblinking eyes. Set within a dark-skinned face framed by a mane of long black hair, the woman was giving off a vibe which reminded him eerily of Erza. Natsu forced himself to give her a small smile.

The impact of a close range explosion sent him rocketing out of the bushes, yelling at the top of his lungs once again – albeit for very different reasons.

With tears streaming from his eyes Natsu ran as hard and fast as his body could manage. He heard the crashing sound as the woman threw away her broken camouflage set and chased after him, probably still wielding one of those shooting things that Alzack and Bisca used in their magic.

Natsu needed distance. The pain radiating from his lower body told him that it was a bad idea to stay anywhere in the girl's vicinity, as it was far more powerful than anything either Alzack or Bisca had ever used. A blast that blew apart an entire trunk to his left made him turn on his fiery afterburners.

Page Break

Natsu didn't know how long it took him, but eventually he had been able to shake off the angry girl. He was usually the first one to enjoy a fight, but this was a special case. Fighting naked after sexually harassing a group of girls was Gray's thing, and Natsu absolutely wanted to avoid copying that damn bastard in anything.

Besides, the girl had been scary. Shots from her magic tool had rang out for far too long, and Natsu's back ached from the sting of the bullets he had not been able to dodge. The places where they had hit were numb as well, leading him to believe that the dark-skinned girl had altered the magic within them.

Panting from the exertion, Natsu stopped for a moment and tried to gather his bearings. Looking around, he couldn't see anything useful or dangerous nearby, but even with that strange column of light it was too dark to tell. He tested the air, only to wrinkle his nose in confusion. Too many unfamiliar smells were present as well. He couldn't tell what most of them signified, and what few he could identify were useless in the current situation.

With both his eyes and nose rendered useless, that meant he would have to rely on his ears and gut to move about the forest. Hoping that it might provide him with some clue as to where Wendy and the others might be, Natsu closed his eyes and tried to focus on his sense of hearing.

Some sounds made sense immediately. "I can hear fighting to the North," Natsu muttered softly to himself. "Magic blasts and yelling voices, so whatever I stumbled into is going on in other places too. Nothing to the South, and both the East and West have some sort of weird, 'vrooming' noise."

Natsu contemplated the new information. Silence to the south meant wilderness and a high possibly of the girl who had nearly blown his junk to smithereens. The pain which still radiated from them made that choice out of the question. Natsu was anything but eager to repeat that particular experience.

Meanwhile, the weird noises to the east and west were completely unknown to him. They sounded a little like those magical vehicles that Erza liked to use. Just thinking about them made him nauseous, so those ways were also out of the picture.

That meant the only direction left to choose was the north. Raging battles were fun, and there was a more than even chance that some of the other members of Fairy Tail were involved in it. Fighting was sort of their thing, and if Natsu had run into trouble then maybe they had as well.

"Easy choice," Natsu said happily. Having a clear objective was always a good thing in his opinion. If it led to a fight or three along the way, well that just made it even better. Now all he needed to do was to avoid the girl with the magic blaster and everything would be okay.

Natsu wound his right shoulder as he moved past a particularly large tree, only to come to a complete halt.

"Or I could find yet another angry looking girl, this one wielding a sword. That could happen too," he grumbled as the new girl approached him. It was like the universe was trying to say that it wanted him to fight like Gray, and Natsu did not appreciate it.

Natsu covered his privates with one hand and waved at the new girl with his remaining hand. Her giant spectacles and long hair made her look a little like Laki from the guild. The way she held her sword, however, did not resemble Laki in the slightest. Nor had Natsu ever seen Laki with a look on her face that resembled an executioner looking at her next target.

Despite his better instincts, Natsu took a deep breath and tried to communicate with this strange new girl. He had avoided fighting like Gray just a little bit ago. Maybe he could do so again.

"Hey, before we get into this, let's talk for a second," he began. "I'm a little lost and was hoping that you could do me a favor. I can't find my friends and -"

The girl's slicing sword cut off the rest of what he had been about to say. Natsu barely stopped the sword a finger's width from his left eye while the girl screamed something at him in a language he didn't understand. A few strands of pink hair drifted in the breeze.

__Ah well, at least I tried__ , Natsu thought to himself as he kicked her in the face. He could curse the universe for forcing him to fight like Gray after he had won. Establishing himself as the most badass fighter in these woods took precedence over anything else.

* * *

Asuna stared in shock at the strange young man as he ran up the slope and into the forest. Her mind had gone numb. How could such a powerful sorcerer be so completely stupid as to forget his clothes? The guy hadn't said anything she could understand, but his reaction to Setsuna's gesture was unmistakable. He had been completely naked and hadn't even realized it.

What an idiot!

As she watched him run haphazardly up the hill, his unmentionables swinging in the air, Asuna swore to herself that she would never let Negi grow into such a wizard. So long as she had anything to say, this picture would never repeat itself with Negi taking the place of the pink-haired man.

Then Asuna's numb mind did a double flip. Why was she thinking about a future with the brat? And why had it been triggered by a man who was naked! Asuna shook her head to clear her mind.

The naked fire mage stopped running along the forest's edge and disappeared into pile of bushes, still yelling at the top of his lungs. She couldn't make out most of what he was saying, but the words 'Gray' and 'Lucy' kept repeating. They sounded like western names she had heard from a couple of American and British television shows that aired on Mahora's television network, but from what she knew most westerners didn't have pink hair.

Beyond confused, Asuna looked over at Setsuna to see if the other girl had any idea what was going on with the crazy fire mage. Unfortunately, Setsuna seemed to be even worse off than Asuna. The dark-haired girl still had her hand stretched out and appeared to be muttering something to herself with a mortified look on her face. Meanwhile, the one hand still bearing the short sword had tightened. The girl's whitened knuckles clearly stood out upon her already pale skin.

It didn't seem that Setsuna would be of much help, so Asuna turned her head away and looked back at the man.

Just in time. Moments after she saw him jump into a large bush on the forest's edge, the man came flying out of it. Yelling in pain, the man then took off faster than Asuna had thought humanly possible.

Then two dark shapes burst out from the bushes, following him at the same breakneck speed. _Asuna blinked. Those two shapes looked familiar._

_ She took a close look. It was Mana, and Ku Fei too! Why were they here in the forest? Could they also be mages like Negi and Setsuna? _

Asuna called out to them, but her two classmates ignored her and kept chasing the strange man. Whatever had happened in that bush hadn't taken long, but it had sure lit a fire underneath all of them. The three figures soon disappeared into another section of the forest, leaving behind an utterly confused Asuna as Setsuna continued to mutter under her breath.

After staring into the forest for a full minute Asuna finally felt her mind pull itself back together. While seeing someone run around naked was nothing new for Mahora, seeing a mage capable of giant blasts of flames running around like a naked idiot while being chased by her classmates had broken something inside of her young maidenly heart. It was weird, it was wrong, and considering how weird Eva was, it did not bode well for Negi.

Asuna slapped her cheeks with both hands to try and drive the image and all of its associations out of her mind. It was time to get back to the reason why she and Setsuna had come here in the first place.

"Alright, Setsuna-san, snap out of it," she said, reaching out a hand to shake the other girl's shoulder. "This whole incident aside, we've still got to back-up Negi and save Konoka. As far as we know things aren't going well for him and the two of them need our help."

With a strangled yelp of ' _Ojou-sama_ ' Setsuna stopped her muttering and snapped out of whatever world she had been trapped within.

"Y-y-yes, Asuna-san. You are right. We should hurry as well," the other girl stuttered. "Even if my body and mind are no longer pure for Ojou-sama, I can still lay down my life to save her."

Catching the last part, Asuna raised an eyebrow at the other girl before shrugging. It wasn't any of her business to ask so long as it didn't stop them from rescuing Konoka and saving Negi.

* * *

Natsu was enjoying himself in this fight. Unlike that bastard he had been fighting before Warrod cast _Fairy Sphere_ _or the dark-skinned girl with the blaster_ , this opponent didn't use any tricks. It was swordsmanship and magical skill versus fists and fiery blasts.

A straight-up who could stand longer, hack, slash, and bash battle. In short, it was the sort of fight Natsu loved the most.

Blocking yet another slash of her sword with a blazing left fist, Natsu slammed his right elbow into her stomach and unleashed a magical blast of fire. “ _Fire Dragon’s Elbow_ ”

Not exactly a traditional piece of magic, Natsu had gifted the move a name full of awesome after creating it way back when he was a kid, playing around with the magic his father, the great fire dragon Igneel was teaching him.

The blast sent the glasses wearing chick rocketing through the forest with her clothes ablaze as Natsu held his arm gingerly. He still hadn't fully recovered from his first battle, and he kept forgetting that his body wasn't in perfect condition. Blocking her attack had caused the wounds healed by Wendy to throb in pain.

The girl recovered quickly, stabbing her sword into the ground and planting her feet onto the trunk of a nearby tree to stop her momentum, while her charred dress swirled around her legs. Raising her eyes, the girl jumped forward at him with her sword extended in a simple thrust.

While the girl's swordsmanship was undeniable, her sense of tactics was not the greatest. Natsu slammed his hands together just before she reached his position. " _Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!_ "

A flash of fire roared out from the point where both his hands met, hitting the small figure in front of him and blocking her body from his vision. The fiery blast tore into the earth around them, tearing a huge furrow into the ground as the magic was released.

As the smoke hung in the air and several trees burned nearby, Natsu blinked, wiping one hand across his face to get the sweat out off of it. After all the fights he had been in and with his wounds not fully healed, his stamina seemed to be lower than usual as well. If he wasn't careful, he might end up exhausting himself before he even reached the place where he had heard a magical battle being waged.

"Phew." He muttered to himself. "Maybe that one got her?"

He peered about and didn't see any trace of the girl. While he hadn't meant to kill her, the power of his blast was strong enough to turn a human's body to ash.

A tingle on the back of his neck was his only warning. Natsu flung his body to the forest floor, rolling to his left before coming up with a spinning jump kick. He had dodged the girl's downward blow, but she in turn blocked his flaming kick with the flat of her sword. The two combatants jumped back after exchanging a lightning fast series of attacks and counterattacks, watching each other warily once they landed.

As they stood still, the girl said a few words to him in that strange language before gesturing to his midriff. Then she sneered.

Suddenly annoyed, Natsu let loose a growl from within his throat. Some things passed any language barrier and needed no translation.

"Oi, no need to go threatening some guy's junk, even if he's pulling a Gray," Natsu called out to his opponent. "It's not my fault that I'm like this. Besides, I didn't even do anything to you!"

The girl seemed to get the message. Taking one hand off of her sword's handle, she fished around in a pocket conveniently located somewhere in her dress.

Natsu blinked as she did. They had blended in so well that the dragon slayer had completely missed seeing them. It was a good thing that she hadn't stored any weapons in them, or used any weapons which might possibly be inside of them. She might have been able to land a solid hit on him if that had been the case.

After a few seconds of searching, the girl pulled out some sort of paper talisman and placed it on her forehead. The thing had some sort of weird writing on it that Natsu had never seen before, but he had seen enough of magic to know when he was looking at a talisman. The exact nature of it quickly became clear the moment she opened her mouth.

"Now we'll be able to understand one another. So say something before I gut you, you uncouth dog. Even perverts deserve their final words."

Natsu blinked again. He had understood the girl's words! Finally, he was beginning to make some progress in this messed up situation! But wait, did she still think he was a pervert? Damn Warrod and Zeref both! Damn them for making others see him in the same light as Gray!

"It wasn't my choice! I didn't even try to fight you before you attacked me.” Natsu yelled. He flailed his arms as he spoke, punctuating his words with angry gestures. “Besides, it's these old guys' fault that I'm naked in the first place! Not mine!"

The woman just stared at him. Maybe he needed to explain things in more detail.

"See, I got attacked at a hot spring by this one old guy and a bunch of his dudes. Then another old guy cast a spell on my team, and between fighting off the guys who had attacked me and helping the other old guy cast his spell I only had time to grab my scarf."

The chick still just stared at him. Bah! He should have known better than to try and reason with someone. Reasoning with people never worked, not unless you beat them black and blue in the process.

"Anyway, why are you trying to neuter me?" Natsu yelled as he flung a hand in her direction. "Like I said, I didn't do anything to you – you found me!"

The girl just kept staring. Pissed at it, Natsu grabbed his hair and started pulling at it. "Stop looking at me like that, _dammit_ _!_ It's annoying!"

A dark, cutesy chuckle coming from deep within her throat finally ended her incessant staring.

"Ignorance of your crime does not absolve your misdeed, not before me, Tsukuyomi. You shot fire at my senpai. You tried to kill my senpai. And afterward," she spoke, her voice beginning to quiver with rage, "you had the temerity, the utter _gall_ , to proposition her with your body. My pure, sweet and innocent senpai. _How dare you_! Senpai is mine and mine alone, and I will cut off your _balls_!"

The girl's eyes flashed as she screamed the last two sentences, her gaze promising pain. She then punctuated the statement with a slash from her sword which shot some sort of strange energy at him in a sweeping arc. Natsu punched his left fist forward and released a torrent of sustained fire, shattering her attack and causing smoke to billow into the air.

Natsu was no longer having fun. Fighting was one thing, but maiming him for something that wasn't his fault just ticked him off.

He called out, "Oi, you serious about this?"

A second slash came screaming in from the smoke left by their last clash. Natsu blocked this attack as well. Then, with a shrug of his shoulders as he growled to himself, the dragon slayer of fire waded into the smoke. The girl was beginning to tick him off, but at least she was consistent. It was good when enemies were consistent with their intentions and their actions.

The two of them resumed their fight right where they had left off. Surrounded by the smoke, both opponents had to rely on their other senses to attack and defend. Natsu launched devastating punches only to have them dodged or blocked with the flat of her blade. The dragon slayer found himself dodging strikes as well, feeling the girl's sword slice through the air next to his skin more than once.

As the smoke dissipated and he blocked several more slashes with bursts of fire from his hands, Natsu grimaced. He couldn't quite get a bead on her in this forest. The girl was skilled enough to make things difficult for him, always attacking from a blind spot, and his injured body was moving slower than usual. He needed to use close quarters combat or a powerful finishing move to clear some of the trees and give him the advantage. Since he had been unable to gain an advantage in the smoke, chances were that he would have to wait for an opportunity to hit her with one of his big spells. Then the girl darted in close and took the choice out of his hands.

She aimed a feint at his head before slashing at his midriff. Seeing through the move, Natsu let the two blows slide past him. He then clamped his hands down on the flat of the blade with both hands and lifted his right leg. His crushing kick slammed into the center of her stomach and caused the girl's eyes to bulge as the breath whooshed from her lungs.

Her grip on the blade slackened and she soon dropped to her knees, gasping for air.

Letting go of the blade with one hand, Natsu delivered a swift chop to the back of her neck with the other. As good as she was, it seemed she had never fought an unarmed combat specialist able to grab onto her sword in mid swing. Between that and her unnatural rage, the odd girl had clearly not been fighting at her peak ability. But that didn't bother Natsu.

A win was a win after all, especially when it was the other person who had picked the fight in the first place.

Finished with the fight, Natsu let her body fall to the forest's floor and tossed the girl's sword deep into the woods. He stared at her for a long moment, waiting to see if she could get up and resume the fight. All the girl did was lie on the ground and twitch her hands every few seconds, signaling both consciousness and temporary paralysis.

She would recover soon enough, but having to locate her sword would stop the girl from pursuing him for a good long while. With that accomplished, only one piece of business remained between them.

Natsu bent over and replaced the strip of magical paper on her head so the girl could clearly understand his words.

"Fight me again when you are stronger and I have some clothes on. We can settle things then in a fair fight. A member of Fairy Tail keeps his word."

With one last look at the girl as she twitched in rage, Natsu stood up and resumed his march northward.

Only to quickly come face to face with a very large, very angry, and very singed bear that immediately bit down on his previously injured arm.

* * *

The next day, Asuna hummed happily to herself as she wandered the halls of Konoka's family mansion. It was the morning after the battle to rescue Konoka and the events of last night were fading fast in her mind. Happily so, she thought to herself.

Shortly after that unnerving fight with the demons and meeting the naked pinkette, she and Setsuna were summoned by Negi to the great Altar upon which Konoka had been bound by the enemy. The two ministra, the title which Negi had said was given to those who served as a mage's partners, joined with him to engage the mysterious Fate and his partner in crime, the eastern sorceress Chigusa.

The struggle went well for a time, as Negi managed to trap Fate with a spell of binding while Asuna banished Chigusa's spirit summons. Taking advantage of the confusion, Setsuna had revealed her demonic heritage and used her wings to swoop in and grab her sworn lord. The black-haired girl had looked as beautiful as an angel to Asuna, and seeing the other girl successfully rescue their friend had made the entire night of pain and fighting worth it.

Unfortunately, it was then that things had taken a turn for the worse. As Setsuna flew off with Konoka, Asuna and Negi battled Fate while a giant demon awoke from its slumber beside them. It had taken Negi's father, the Thousand Master, and Konoka's father working together to seal it. With just Asuna and Negi around, and distracted by fighting Fate, things had started to look bad. The emo looking villain had had them on the ropes before an even greater evil had interfered: the Dark Evangel, Evangeline A.K. McDowell, temporarily freed from her prison by order of Mahora's headmaster.

With her servant robot Chachamaru's aid, Evangeline had proceeded to annihilate the awakening demon. Seeing that the tables had been turned, Fate tried one last attack before finally running away.

Without Evangeline's timely intervention, Asuna was certain that she and Negi would have been finished. Yet it had happened, everyone had survived, and on this morning after the night of battles Asuna was able to sing merrily while skipping through Konoka's mansion of a home.

As she skipped out of the hallway and into an open-air section of the mansion, Asuna couldn't help but laugh as she stared into the brightly lit forest. She had defied demons, escaped a pink-haired pervert, fought a sorceress bent on revenge, rescued a damsel in distress and defied a being of frightening power straight to his face.

All things taken, that had to be considered a rousing success. She raised her voice higher as she dashed out to do cartwheels on the well-kept grass. It was a glorious day and she was going to celebrate, decorum be damned!

The young girl whirled and twirled along the grass, basking in the simple joy of being alive. She continued to sing as she did, belting out the lyrics from some web series she had seen Chisame watching in class the other day.

"It's a brand new day, and the sun is high! All the birds are singing that I'm -" in mid song, a whiff of cooked lard caught her attention, instantly breaking off her singing. Asuna sniffed the pleasant aroma of cooking meat, an aroma which seemed to grow stronger the longer she stood still.

Eventually, a rumbling noise from her stomach reminded her why she had been skipping through the hallways in the first place. Konoka's father had said that breakfast would be available early in the morning and had asked that Asuna and the others be present so as to be celebrated. Never one to turn down free food, especially if it was anything like Konoka's cooking, Asuna had promised that she would attend.

With the delicious smell of breakfast on the air, Asuna's body was doing its best to remind her of its current state.

“I can sing and cartwheel another time,” Asuna said to herself as she passed some neatly trimmed hedges on her way back to the mansion. “Now it's time for food! Mmm... food." Asuna giggled in delight, the twin bells in her hair jingling as she bounced up and down in excitement.

Before she could put on the jets and run off towards the dining area, though, a dark skinned hand appeared from behind a nearby hedge and waved at her. Wondering who it was and why they were trying to delay her from getting food, Asuna walked over to investigate.

Popping her head over the hedge's side, Asuna saw Ku Fei sitting cross-legged on a comfortable looking blanket. The blonde Chinese girl was digging into a plate of meaty stew, the smell of which made Asuna's mouth water. It was definitely the smell that was filling the air, and at that moment Asuna wanted nothing more than to eat it.

Ku-Fei pointed to a nearby pot and gestured for Asuna to join her. "It's not Chao-Bao-Zi-aru, but Mana's cooking is really good.” the lean martial artist said in accented Japanese. “You should try some meat-aru. It's delicious and good for the body too!"

Asuna smiled as she twisted her head and looked around. She spotted a nearby pathway and followed it, eventually arriving at Ku's blanket where she sat down, smoothing her skirt as she did.

"Thanks Ku Fei! I was really starting to get hungry" Asuna said as she grabbed an empty bowl and filled it with stew. This could serve as an appetizer to her meal with Konoka's dad, and she had questions that she wanted to ask the other girl. Questions like why had she been present at the battle last night, why had she chased the pink-haired man, and what had happened to that naked pervert?

All of which could wait. As Asuna crossed her legs and set the bowl of stew on top of them, the first thing on her mind was food. With a cry of, “Itadakimasu,” the orange-haired girl dug in to it.

As Asuna dug in, Ku took a drink out of a cup filled with water. Birds were chirping in nearby tree and Ku Fei made for surprisingly fun company as they ate. The two girls generally associated with one another only when both attended after school make up sessions. It was good to get to know her in a different setting.

As they ate, Asuna tried to ask what had brought the other girl into the woods, but could only blink in confusion at the response. The moment Asuna had finished asking her question Ku Fei began blabbering on about powerful enemies and destined meetings between foes. It had sounded like something one might encounter in a movie, but from the look on the other girl's face Asuna could tell that that Ku Fei was utterly serious. Asuna tried to rephrase her question, but when Ku Fei repeated the exact same thing she had said before Asuna gave up on it.

Supposedly Mana had made the stew, so Asuna waited for a little bit maybe the dark-skinned girl would return. Mana seemed to have a sensible head on her shoulders. Any explanation she gave would have to be better than anything Ku Fei had just said.

Asuna finished the plate of stew, mopping up a little bit of the remaining juices with a piece of bread. As she waited for Mana to return, Asuna tried to keep the conversation going between her and Ku Fei.

"Thanks for the meal, Ku Fei. That was delicious!" Asuna said. She clapped her hands together to underscore her words. "What was it made with? I don't think that I've ever tasted something like it."

Ku gave a slight shrug. "Nothing special went into it-aru, except for the meat. Mana and I gathered the ingredients last night as we hunted the foe that attacked her. We were really lucky-aru! This is a once in a lifetime meal here in Japan. You see, special meat make all the difference-aru.”

The pink-haired naked guy had attacked Mana? Finally, something Ku Fei said was making sense! It was something that Asuna was actually curious to know the answer to as well.

Then a terrifying thought occurred to Asuna, as Ku Fei's words penetrated, prompting a quick gag.

"Ku Fei," Asuna squeaked out as she started to choke. "Are you telling me that this came from a hu-, I mean to say a hum-, a hu-human being? Did you and Mana skin him alive and cook his remains?"

Asuna looked at her hands as a wave of nausea rose within her belly. Asuna wailed in horror at the thought of what she had just done. "Oh God, I just became a cannibal didn't I? Didn't I? _Noooo!_ I'm not ready for prison life! I'm too young, and even if he was pervert, he didn't deserve to be eaten. How could you do this to me Ku Fei? _How could you!_ "

Across from the sobbing Asuna, Ku Fei cocked her head to the side and studied her classmate.

"Asuna, do you mean that guy over there?" Ku Fei finally said as she pointed to a hedge nearby. "He's fine-aru. Just beat up and unconscious."

Asuna stopped sobbing long enough to take a look in the direction Ku Fei was pointing. Hoping beyond hope that the other girl was telling the truth and that she had not just fed Asuna stew made from a human's body, Asuna poke her head over the hedge. She quickly gave a gasp of relief.

Unconscious and hanging from a rather thick pole was the pink-haired man from the night before. No longer naked, he was now wrapped in a bearskin robe, bandages, and that ridiculous white scarf. Asuna felt sweet relief sweep across her.

"The bear he killed was delicious wasn't it-aru." Ku Fei said as she moved around the hedge to stand beside the man. "Mana and I were happy to run across both of them at once-aru. We were able to kill two birds with one stone."

Asuna's tears turned to joy as she sobbed. "Yes! Praise be to Takahata! Our marriage is saved!"

She then flung herself onto her Chinese classmate, scattering bowls and cutlery everywhere in her haste. "Thank you Ku Fei, thank you! I’m sorry for ever doubting you. I promise to never do it again."

“Um, okay-aru. Ku Fei is... happy that you are happy-aru.” Ku Fei said as she patted Asuna's back with a confused look on her face.

Page Break

Later, after Asuna had calmed down and gone to eat breakfast with Konoka's father, she came back to study the pink-haired man more closely. No one else had been at the breakfast other than her, and while Asuna was in love with Takamichi she had no desire to pursue Konoka's dad or any of the other old men who had been present. Being celebrated was nice and all, but Asuna preferred to spend time with her classmates and people her own age.

"So, Ku Fei. Do you or Tatsumiya-san have any idea what this guy was doing out in the woods last night?"

Ku Fei shook her head. "He didn't speak Japanese-aru. Mana and I tried a bunch of other languages too, but he didn't seem to know any of them either-aru."

The Chinese martial artist took a drink from a cup of water which sat beside her before continuing. "Mana was hoping to speak with Negi-bouzu about a spell of translation, but left to take a business call before she could-aru. I think."

Asuna nodded. That made sense to her. She wasn't a mage or anything, but with Negi being a genius magician and all there was definite chance he might be able to do something about it. But wait, how did Mana know that Negi might be able to do something about this? Did they know that he was a mage? Asuna gave voice to her questions and pinned her classmate with a hard stare.

Ku Fei smiled in return. "Mana is a famous magical mercenary who has traveled the globe-aru. She's really strong, and I think that she has teamed up with Setsuna and the others in the past to do magic jobs too-aru." Ku Fei then shrugged. "If you want to know more-aru, you have to ask Mana yourself. Everyone has secrets-aru, and I am an honorable keeper of what I am told."

The two sat in silence for a short time as Asuna absorbed Ku Fei's words and looked at the hog-tied pinkette. She really was curious about him and why he had saved her, even if he had done it while completely naked.

_Bah!_ That meant she would have to find that annoying teacher of hers before Evangeline kidnapped him for the day like the vampire had been saying she would ever since she had saved them. Asuna would probably have to try explaining Ku Fei and Mana's situation to both of them while she was at it. All of which would be very annoying.

Still, curiosity eventually beat out the possible annoyance. "I'll be back with Negi in a minute Ku Fei. Just keep that sleepy guy here until we get back."

Ku Fei acknowledged Asuna's words and waved as the other girl departed. “I'll be right here-aru. No prisoner has ever escaped from me.”

Beside the Chinese girl, the man gave out a groan, possibly a sign that he was beginning to awaken. A quick stab of Ku Fei's fingers on some kind of pressure point quickly ended it. “See-aru? Everything is under control.”

* * *

It took Asuna almost no time to locate Negi, but longer to explain the situation and pry him away from Eva's demented clutches. The small vampire was rather animated about being able to freely move about for the first time in a decade and, even upon hearing the story of his appearance during the fight, declared that naked pink-haired men had little interest for her. She refused to budge no matter what Asuna offered.

Thankfully, it seemed that Negi was impressed enough by both Asuna's description of the man's magical abilities and her threats of bodily harm if Negi didn't help her that he too wanted to see the man. Eva sulked and yelled and threw a tantrum no self-respecting vampire should ever throw but eventually gave in on the condition that Negi accompany her throughout the city immediately afterwards.

Along the way to Ku Fei's position the group also picked up Setsuna and Konoka, stopping the first from trying to run away from everyone over some silly reason. Asuna had yelled, Negi and Konoka had cried, Setsuna then cried with them, and Eva had hid her face behind her hands and muttered about stupidity. Then it had ended and they resumed their original mission.

In short order the five of them, Ku Fei, a returned Mana, and Chachamaru were standing in front of the still unconscious pink-haired man. Mana had returned while they were gone, and Chachamaru had appeared out of thin air the moment they had stepped out of the mansion. Asuna had been slightly alarmed by her appearance, but it seemed that the girl was still as docile as ever. Chachamaru hadn't been an opponent since the midnight fight with Eva, and it was high time for Asuna to stop getting an adrenaline surge every time the robotic girl appeared without her noticing.

The group stood for a short time as everyone waited for someone else to start the conversation. It was Negi who broke the ice. "I don't know how you learned of my secret, Tatsumiya-san, but as your teacher I have to ask: what did you and Ku Fei-san do to keep him unconscious for this long? I don't want my students to get in trouble for causing harm to someone who might be an innocent man."

Stepping up beside him, Mana drew one of her pistols and popped out a shell that she passed to the diminutive teacher. "Since we arrived here, Ku Fei and I have been using pressure points to keep him unconscious. But before that it was not quite so easy. Ku Fei and I came upon him after he had just killed a rather large forest bear. The bear had managed to wound him, and seeing an opening I took advantage of this distraction to shoot him with several high-powered sleeping bullets. Ku Fei also engaged him in hand to hand combat and may have gotten somewhat rough with him."

Mana gave a grim smile as she recounted her story. "The man was remarkably durable, so I had to hit him with four clips worth of ammunition. It is harder to take someone alive than it is to take their life, but this man possesses a magic resistance that is far higher than that of the average mage."

She then gave a shrug as her expression faded back to normal. "As for what will most likely be your next two questions, sensei, I had surmised your powers due to your last name and place of origin. Everyone in the magical world knows of your father, and I am no stranger to its dangers. But Ku Fei here is still a newcomer to our world. She knew nothing until last night, when we saw you dash through the forest to save our classmate.”

Negi blushed crimson as he turned the shell over in his hands, probably feeling out the magic it contained. Asuna could only shake her head at the conversation. It seemed that his father's fame kept appearing in unexpected places. Sure, Negi had told her that his dad was famous, but by the way both Eva and Mana spoke it seemed like the guy was a legend.

The kid bowed his head as he replied. "Thank you for keeping my secret, Tatsumiya-san, Ku Fei-san. I promise to do the same with yours."

Afterward, no one said very much as Negi concentrated on the task at hand. Eva had scoffed when Asuna had asked the vampire to help Negi, and Mana had only shaken her head and said that her abilities lay in different areas.

Grumbling to herself, Asuna ruminated on the differences between mages as Negi puzzled over how to wake Natsu up. Some were perverts, others were stubborn psychopaths or walked around with magical guns, and the ones Asuna hadn't met were probably weirder than the Mad Hatter from _Alice in Wonderland_. The only sane one of the bunch seemed to be Takamichi. Thank all that was holy that he wasn't like the rest of them.

Page Break

Once Negi had a good idea of how to wake the sleeping man without harming him, the young boy handed the shell back to Mana. He then summoned his magic and placed his hand on the sleeping man's head.

The spells within Mana's bullets were quite potent and she had hit the man with quite a few. Additionally, whatever Mana and Ku Fei had done to his pressure points was also doing a good job of keeping him asleep.

The young mage took a deep breath and reached into the depths of his magic. He shaped and molded it into a powerful spell of wakefulness, tuning it to the energy signature of Mana's bullets. Negi felt Evangeline's eyes on him as he worked, most likely evaluating his skill to deal with this challenge. He firmed his shoulders. With her eyes on him, Negi would demonstrate just how far he had come.

Negi spoke in a voice that rose as he began to cast his magic. " _Ras Tel Ma Scir Magister: Excita!_ "

With an exclamation at the end, he released the pent up energy and let it flow into the sleeping man before him. As the man's eyes began to gently flutter open, Negi pumped a small fist in victory.

It was short lived, for no sooner had he caught Eva's eyes with his own than a screeching noise split apart through the afternoon air.

" _Te reinga! He aha te tika tupu? Homai ki ahau toku kakahu kua!_ " The man on the stake had just woken up and was squawking like a blue jay with its tail-feathers on fire. " _Hoki puku! Toku ringa. He aha I meatia e koe ki toku ringa? Te mamae te! Kia ahau ki raro, koutou whakatara._ _Kah!_ "

Negi covered his ears and fell onto his backside while the girls around him had similar reactions. The man had a pair of lungs on him like a dragon! How could anyone possibly scream that loud without using magic?

The man probably would have continued yelling if Asuna hadn't walked up to him and slapped him with her pactio generated fan. " _Shaddup!_ "

That seemed to stun him down for a moment. An expression similar to one on a person feeling their skin brushed with nettles crossed his face and Negi winced in empathy. The sting caused by Asuna's fan was not just physical. It could also interfere with a user's magic for a short time, and the feeling it caused was anything but pleasant.

After a short moment of stunned silence the pink-haired man narrowed his eyes and bit out a single word which he directed at Asuna. Asuna returned the look with interest, waving her fan under the man's nose as she did.

As Negi tried to figure out what he should do, he could feel Eva's gaze burning into his back. More specifically, as he turned his head to look, the ancient vampire seemed to be staring at his neck. Which was probably not a very good sign at all.

Negi shifted nervously while he drew up the collar of his shirt. He would need to redeem himself, and do it quickly.

As Konoka clung to Setsuna's left arm and hummed happily, seemingly ignorant of everything that was going on; Negi stood up and cast his second spell. " _Ras Tel Ma Scir Magister: Omnia Verba Loqui!_ "

Negi dry washed his hands nervously as he stepped back to his original position and began to unbind the man's hands

"Hello," he said as he worked. "My name is Negi Springfield, a Magister Magi in-training, and these are my students. The ones who found you last night were Tatsumiya Mana-san – she's the tall one with dark skin – and Ku Fei-san – who is the short one with blonde hair."

Negi zapped the bindings holding the man's wrists while continuing his introduction. The knots were proving too tough for his small hands to handle.

"Setsuna-san and Konoka-san are the two dark-haired girls behind me. Beside them are Chachamaru-san – the tall girl with green hair – and Evangeline-san."

Negi paused as he thought how he could describe the vampire without incurring her wrath. "She's a powerful mage, and much older than she looks. So please be very respectful and do your best not to anger her."

Negi's ever present smile faded somewhat as he felt the air around him grow chill from Eva's magic. Shoot. He really had somehow managed to annoy her after all.

Hoping that she would eventually stop being angry at him Negi continued to speak.

"The orange-haired girl next to me with bells in her hair is Asuna-san." Negi bowed his head towards the man who was slowly rubbing his joints with both hands. "I apologize if you were hurt when my students tied you up or when Asuna-san hit you with her fan. They are good students, they really are, but they can be very excitable at times and Asuna-san is often violent. Please forgive their enthusiasm."

Asuna squawked a denial and made as if to swing her fan at him, but a coughed grunt from the formerly tied up man quickly quieted her down. Negi's partner raised her fan as she refocused her attention on the pink-haired man, clearly preparing herself to spring into action if the situation called for it.

Negi pointed towards the man and, as he undid the final knot, asked what everyone present wanted to know. "Now, who are you?"

It didn't take long for him to speak. The man placed one of his hands on his fur clad hip and pointed the other one at his chest, digging his thumb into his chiseled chest as his loud voice rang out.

"My name's Natsu and I'm a wizard of Fairy Tail, Fiore's toughest guild," the man declared. “I was separated from my guildmates during a fight, and if you've seen any of them tell me pronto or get my fist to your face.”

Then, without so much as a moment of hesitation, Natsu walked over to Mana placed his face close to hers.

"You!" He said, flushing red as he spoke. "You...! What did my balls do to deserve that kind of punishment huh?! That was an accident!"

His hand fell to his groin, rubbing it in phantom pain. His actions drew a flush out of most of the girls watching. "And did you really need to shoot me with those sleepy things so much?! My head feels like I went on a drinking binge with a pal of mine and tried to match her barrel for barrel."

Natsu then shoved his entire left hand at Ku Fei. "And you! My arm – my entire frickin arm – was bleeding from the damn animal whose fur is hanging on me! Next time, don't bash it like a damn volleyball. It feels like it's gonna fall off any second now. _Gah!_ "

While Ku Fei merely pointed at herself in confusion Konoka gasped in shock. Her gasp drew Natsu's attention away from the blonde-haired girl and over to Konoka and Setsuna.

"Ah," he murmured softly. He scratched his left cheek with one finger as the red in his face deepened. "By the way, I'm sorry for being naked when I saved your asses from those demon guys. One of my friends likes doing that sorta thing, but I don't. So, well, sorry 'bout that. Again."

Negi studied his students' reactions. Mana's face could have belonged to that of a poker player while Ku Fei still wore a look of confusion on her face from when Natsu had yelled at her. Meanwhile, Setsuna was blushing again while Asuna seemed to be muttering and gripping her fan tightly. Beside them both, Konoka had one hand covering her mouth as she looked at Natsu with pitying eyes.

Other than Asuna's slowly building temper, which frightened Negi enough that he decided to move away from her, things seemed to be fairly good. Unfortunately they were not, and unfortunately his move away from Asuna had carried him closer to one person who was anything _but_ okay.

"Wahahaha! You mean to say that you met most of these girls, and fought against two of them, all while completely buck-ass naked?"

Eva's voice boomed in Negi's ears, forcing the young boy to once again cover them with his hands. Meanwhile, the undead woman's cheerful smile grew wider at Natsu's shamed nod. The older boy seemed to sniff her, widening his eyes as he did.

"That is just too good to be true. Oh Merciful God in Heaven, strike me down now. For mine ears have been gifted with a perverse knowledge that has been" Everyone but Natsu looked up to the sky. Unfortunately, it was a clear day without a cloud in the sky.

Eva then collapsed to the ground where she proceeded to roll around in the dirt. "Chachamaru, please, please tell me that you recorded all of that, and that you got everyone's faces too. This is just too priceless to let go. This is stupidity on the level of the Thousand Master himself! _Oh, God, yes_!"

She got up and, in a move that no one saw coming, hugged a frightened Asuna as literal tear of joy streamed out of her eyes. "Oh, thank you for grabbing Negi and taking us here you poor, stupid girl. Thank you! This is wonderful, just wonderful."

Negi stared in consternation at his vampiric student for a little while longer. Sometimes she was cute and normal. Other times, she scared him to death. But right now she just confused him and he didn't know what to do with her. So he tried the only thing he could think of, which was to try to bring the attention of the conversation back to Natsu while he did his best to ignore the now breathless undead mage as she dragged Asuna to the ground and continued to roll in joy.

"So Natsu, where are Fairy Tail and Fiore located?” Negi asked. “I've never heard of either. Are they cities, or are they a fraternal group of some sort?"

Negi was completely unprepared for what happened next. After he finished speaking, the older boy's head had snapped around to look at the boy teacher so fast that the man gave out a cry of pain.

Negi blinked. "Did I say something wrong?"

With a fierce growl and a wild look in his eyes, Natsu grabbed Negi by both of his shoulders.

“What do you mean you've never heard of Fairy Tail or Fiore? Aren't we in Fiore right now?"

The little mage in Natsu's hands rubbed the bridge of his nose nervously before answering. "I'm sorry Natsu-san, but you're not. We are currently located in Kyoto, a city in Japan."

Natsu just stared at the little kid. It didn't seem like Negi's words had managed to reach him. "Um, you know, it's in Asia which is in the Old World."

* * *

Natsu blinked slowly as he tried to process what was going on. Thoughts swirled around his head as he desperately tried to assimilate information. Not Fiore, but the Old World. Some places called Kyoto and Japan. He had never heard of any of them, and as his thoughts began to race Natsu felt a familiar sinking feeling begin to grow in his chest.

"Yo, Negi kid, one more question," Natsu murmured. "What year is it right now?"

The kid's smile, which had faltered when Natsu had grabbed him by his shoulders, returned at Natsu's question. "Why, it's currently the year 2003 A.D."

2003 A.D. A completely different year, with a calendar marker he had never encountered. _Oh, shit no._

It had happened again. It had seriously, fucking happened to him again. _Again!_

Natsu released the kid as soon as the words left the boy's mouth. He sat down with a horrified look on his face and felt the hollow, empty feeling within his stomach begin to grow. Natsu was no genius but even he could see what had happened.

He was no longer in Fiore. No, he was once again in a world that was not his own, only this time he was all alone with no way to get back. It took a lot to make him lose it, but as he contemplated the horror of his current situation, Natsu just couldn't hold in his feelings.

He let lose his frustrations in a glorious eruption of fire which poured out of every pore of his body.

"Ahhh! _Dammit Warrod, Zeref! Damn both of your ancient assess straight to hell!_ "

As flames blasted from his body and into the sky above everyone around him dove for cover. The only exception was the tiny mage who smelled different from everyone else. That one continued to laugh, eventually passing out from lack of oxygen as the others around them hit Natsu with everything they had, forcing Natsu back into the now welcome embrace of unconsciousness.

**END**   
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** The following story is a fan made work of fiction. _Fairy Tail_ and _Mahou Sensei Negima!_ are owned and written by Hiro Mashima and Ken Akamatsu respectively. Please support their official releases.

**Chapter 3**

**Welcome to Mahora**

"Hello passengers, and thank you for listening. We will be arriving shortly at our destination. Please make sure that your bags are properly stowed away and vacate the aisle as we pull in so as to ensure a safe and orderly disembarkation. Thank you for traveling with us; we hope that you had a pleasant ride."

As he listened to the woman's polite voice come over some kind of hidden audio system, Natsu gurgled, his utter hatred of her statement overflowing. His usual nausea from traveling on a vehicle had set in with a vengeance, leaving him virtually paralyzed for the past few hours. If Natsu had known that going back with Negi and his friends would involve train travel, he would have elected to walk to Mahora on foot. Wearing a red t-shirt and tan shorts with sandals an older guy named Eishun had given him, Natsu knew that he must look absolutely pathetic.

Damn this strange world, and damn those old geezers for getting him stuck in it!

After his initial outburst upon realizing that he was once again in a reality other than his own, and after subsequently being subdued by those around him, Natsu had calmed enough to rationally deal with the situation. For the second time in his life Natsu was trapped in another reality. For the second time he was separated from his guild mates.

Only this time Natsu was well and truly alone, with neither Happy nor Lucy beside him, and the dragon-slayer had absolutely no idea of where he needed to begin in order to find any of them. This time there was no Mystogan around to tell him what needed to be done. This time there was only a young boy, almost a child, who possessed almost as many questions as Natsu and a bunch of young girls who seemed to be the kid's students. None of them filled Natsu with much confidence, but they were the only ones he could depend upon other than himself.

It wasn't the worst situation Natsu had ever been in, but it came close.

It had taken some persuasion, but after talking with Negi and the others Natsu was able to get the magical bindings they had used to restrain him taken off of his body. He had not really apologized for his actions, but he had also avoided rubbing their faces in the fact that his initial explosion had caught most of them completely by surprise. The only one who had responded quickly enough to protect their self had been the tan skinned girl with black hair, the one who had managed to take him down within the forest.

Her bullets had stopped his initial burst and, much to Natsu's pain and utter annoyance, proved just as effective at knocking him out as they had in the forest. Three point-blank rounds to his forehead had left him feeling woozy, and when he woke back up he could swear that there was an indentation on the back of his head shaped like the butt of her gun.

With that being said, Negi and the others had eventually told him what they knew after he had recovered. It basically boiled down to three things.

First, that Natsu was now on a planet called Earth and that he was in a country called Japan. Second, that Negi and his companions had been in the middle of a pleasure trip gone wrong and that Natsu had barged into the middle of their battle against a group of unknown enemies. Third, that no one in the group had ever heard of Natsu's world and had no idea how the dragon slayer might go about returning to it.

That last part had been particularly bitter to learn, and in truth Natsu still had not fully accepted it. Being told that there was no known way for him to do what he wanted was fine; as a member of Fairy Tail, making the impossible possible was an occupational requirement.

It was just that, for the first time in his life, Natsu had no idea how he might go about shoving his usual rejection of society down the world's collective throat. There was no enemy to beat, no magic council to flip off, and no reality bending magic for him to focus on obtaining. All of his brainy friends were missing and Natsu well and truly had no idea as to how he should go about finding them. He was many things, including a skilled tracker, but unless there was a trail to follow or an obstacle in need of overcoming, he was out of his depth.

So, in the hopes of finding a new path, Natsu had decided to accompany Negi and the others back to their home. The kid had offered to help the dragon-slayer out, and until a better option presented itself, the kid represented Natsu's best chance at finding a way home.

Yet as the train neared its destination Natsu thought that he may have made a mistake in deciding to go with them. With his hands on his belly and shivers going down his spine, Natsu wondered if it was possible that Warrod's spell had transferred him to some kind of personal hell.

A hell complete with a devilish tour guide who went by the name of Haruna Saotome.

"And this, Mr. Pinky, is my favorite manga," Haruna told Natsu with glee. The black haired, bespectacled girl flipped through the book's pages as she sat next to him, taking care to hold each one close to his face before each turn of the page. The girl looked like a harmless geek, but it was just a shell. Underneath it laid the heart of a sadistic, seasoned veteran of torture.

"You can see how the artist drew the body proportions of each character with extreme care. The lines and shading are superb, displaying a detailed yet incredibly minimalistic style."

Haruna shifted in the seat next to Natsu as two other girls, Yue and Nodoka, looked on from the seats across from them in silence. Natsu had begged them to intervene with his eyes, but other than an initial offer of juice from blue haired Yue, neither girl had lifted so much as a finger in his defense. Instead, both girls kept casually looking away whenever their gaze met his own, determinedly keeping themselves out of the conversation.

Natsu didn't really know them, but he was certain of one thing: for abandoning him to hours of torment at the hands of their friend, neither of the two girls rated very high on his list of great human beings.

"Okay, now look at this chapter here and at this scene in particular. The two main characters share a passionate kiss as they hold one another tenderly in their arms. The detail is incredible. Just incredible! If you look into their eyes you can feel the emotion, the _passion_ , that both men are experiencing. Gah! You don't get to see this kind of steamy, forbidden love between two people in just _any_ manga. No, this is a limited edition Sahoto Ashisu original, and you should count yourself lucky to see it. I have an in with her teacher you see, the great Yuki Aito, and thanks to him I was able to get it before anyone else. Hahaha!"

Staring at the page with eyes blurred from pain, Natsu could only manage a single pained moan in the hopes of finally conveying his complete and utter disinterest in the subject. Natsu didn't care about some stupid doodles – he just wanted her to shut up and leave him alone!

Yet Haruna nodded her head in agreement anyway, completely disregarding Natsu's communication.

"Right? It really is amazing, I know. Someday I'll be capable of this level and higher. As I grow in fame my fans will spread across the globe and usher in a new era for all humankind! Mwahahaha! _Fear me, o' powerless masses! Adore your future queen._ "

As the girl continued her mad rant Natsu closed his eyes and pressed his face harder against the cool, hard surface of the train's glass window. Traveling on a vehicle was bad enough, but this was torture. Whoever had placed him next to this girl had wanted to punish him.

What made the experience worse was that Natsu could understand every single word of the never-ending flow without needing that young mage, Negi, to cast a spell of translation. Thanks to a small charm tied around his right wrist, Natsu was able to understand any language spoken. It had seemed like a good idea to wear it at the time, but at that moment Natsu wanted nothing more than to rip it off of his arm, light it on fire, and laugh as he watched it burn.

Natsu made a weak motion with his left arm, but another wave of nausea hit just as he managed to get his fingers on the charm. His fingers slid off of it, failing him in this hour of need.

Being unable to fight back was horrible, and what made it feel even worse was that Natsu felt like he hadn't even done enough damage to deserve this sort of punishment. He had only been able to burn down a couple meters of forest before Mana and the others had taken him down. That was damn light by Fairy Tail standards.

Thinking back, it had been Mana who had had tied the charm onto his arm. She had even done it while wearing a smile – now Natsu knew why she had been smiling. Since the moment he had told them that he didn't do well with vehicles, the sadistic girl must have known that this was going to happen to him. Damn her!

Haruna had been asking him all sorts of weird things since the train ride began; questions about the color of his hair and how far down it went, why he had such a muscled physique with so many small scars, and if he could give her an option on those books she kept shoving into his face. Neither his silent screaming, his nauseated face, nor his inability to coherently respond to her questions seemed to bother the girl.

At one point during the journey, Natsu was certain that the little she-devil beside him had wrapped some sort of yellow tape with weird markings around his waist and other parts of his body, all while she had called out numbers to a classmate elsewhere in the carriage. He couldn't be certain because he had been going in and out of consciousness at that point; dreams of an invisible dragon and a giant, white-haired warrior flying in and out of a chaotic battle had also passed through his head at that time and Natsu was sure as hell that that had been either a dream or a hallucination.

"I know that you're Negi-sensei's cousin, Natsu-tan, so I was really hoping to get your opinion on this one doujinshi that I'm working on."

Haruna shuffled her hands around in some sort of handbag before shoving another pile of paper into his face. The pages swam in and out of his vision as Natsu fought against his ever-present nausea.

"It's my secret work, my greatest and most ambitious effort to date. I haven't even shown this to Yue-chan or Nodoka-chan yet; but you know Natsu-tan, I really feel like you and I have bonded on this trip. And with your insider knowledge of the two subjects, I don't think that there is anyone more qualified to critique it. So, please, tell me what you think of it; and don't you hold anything back either."

Natsu blinked his eyes as he tried to make out details. If he could actually make a comment on something she shoved into his face, then maybe, just maybe the girl would leave him alone. The dragon-slayer bent his mind and will towards the goal, pushing his body to the limits as he stared at the sheaf of loose-leaf paper in front of his eyes. He had never before managed to overcome this sickness, but there was always a first.

Yet when the pictures began to come into focus, Natsu almost wished they had just stayed as blurry dots. Haruna's nonstop, breathless explanation of the pictures only made them worse.

"See, Natsu-tan? It's a what-if story involving Negi-sensei and our class' old teacher, Takahata-sensei – you know him too, right? Of course you do, since you're Negi-sensei's cousin – that I came up with one night after listening to Asuna and Iinchou – she's the foreign looking girl probably drooling over sensei, by the way – have another one of their fights over them; you see, Asuna likes Takahata-sensei and Iinchou likes Negi-sensei, and those two girls are constantly arguing over which guy is hotter. But, more importantly to me, rumor has it that Negi-sensei and Takahata-sensei have known each other for years, making a relationship between them the ultimate in taboo love!"

Haruna flipped a few pages as she spoke. Natsu was unable to really see any of them in detail until she stopped and pointed to one page in particular.

"I'd really like to get your opinion on this scene in particular. Specifically, do you think that it's plausible in ten years? Takahata-sensei is already all grown up, but I really had to scratch my brain hard when trying to think of what Negi-sensei might look like in ten years. Because as great as a forbidden love between them might be today I really don't think that Takahata sensei would go for the ten year old Negi-sensei. He doesn't strike me as the lolita or shota type."

Haruna paused as she spoke, taking the first breath since she had taken out her strange book of pictures. Natsu saw her flick her eyes towards several of her classmates as she breathed deeply. Her gaze lingered longest on a tall, busty blonde. "That's the style of... other individuals, if you get my drift, Natsu-tan. But hey, I'm not one to judge whose love is wrong and whose love is right. All I can do for now is hope, dream, and scheme to make it all come true. Because one day I, Haruna, shall rule the world and force all of humanity to serve me! Muwahahahahaha!"

Across from him, Natsu saw the girl named Nodoka blush redder than the sun as Haruna laughed. The other one, Yue, buried her head into a book as she too blushed. Natsu finally felt some empathy for the two of them as he saw their reactions. After all, they had to deal with Haruna day in and day out. If Natsu had been in their place then he too might have decided to throw the new guy to the dogs.

A particularly hard jolt then ran through the compartment as the train pulled into the Mahora station, saving Natsu from having to try and answer Haruna's question. The jolt crashed Natsu's head against the train's metal bulkhead, and fate finally decided to smile on him as it did. Natsu's body decided to give out on him, and the sweet relief of darkness stole him away.

* * *

Negi stood up as the train pulled into the station. With his class roster book in hand, he called out to the class of girls who filled the compartment around him. "Okay everyone, I hope that you all had a wonderful time. Please exit the car safely, and remember, school begins on Monday, so finish any assignments before it starts. Thank you, and stay safe everyone!"

As if his words were a magic spell, everyone around him leapt into motion. The girls disembarked in a flurry of activity that left him feeling dazed, twisting and pulling each other's hair and clothes as they competed to see who could reach the dorms the quickest. The girls laughed and yelled at one another as they moved past him, with some of the girls trying to grab a hold of their young teacher as though he were a piece of luggage that they had almost forgotten.

It was something Negi had been expecting.

The young boy moved through their attempts with a polished ease, avoiding their prying hands as he spoke with each one in turn. Fuuma and Fuuka, the small twins, were easily distracted with sweets he pressed into their hands. Red haired Misa and her two friends were appeased by a promise from him to let them open class with a cheer. Others were content with a wave and a smile.

Then there were the troublesome ones.

Evangeline, despite having saved his life and touring all of Kyoto with him, gave him a stare that made him feel like a bug she was thinking of squashing. Chisame gave him a look which clearly said that, in her eyes, he was incompetent, and poor Ayaka had to be dragged off the train kicking and screaming by an irate Asuna. Negi could only stare at that pair of squabbling friends while rubbing the back of his head, and in doing so he had failed to notice the approach of yet another dangerous member of his class.

"Negi-sensei!" Kazumi Asakura called out to him, her brilliant red hair shaking as she shoved some sort of metallic device into his face. "Is there any way I could get an exclusive interview regarding the events at the hotel before we leave the train? Specifically, could you please explain the kissing craze that broke out on the final night? I have eyewitnesses who claim that you were able to kiss almost half-a-dozen of your students in a single night!"

The young boy continued to rub back of his neck as he laughed and did his best to dodge the girl's questions. "Sorry Asakura-san, there's nothing to say. Nothing like that actually happened."

He tried to escape her as he spoke, but the reporter-in-training refused to let him get away so easily. Her slim arms shot out to each side, boxing him in place as she pinned him with a determined stare. A wry grin twisted her lips and put a twinkle in her eyes as she replied.

"Riiiight, sensei. Sure it didn't happen. Is that the company line they've got you spouting? Did the powers that be get to you and break your angelic will to their thorny will? Are they now stopping you from realizing your forbidden love with your own students, and becoming the world's youngest harem king?"

"Um, uh, I'm not really sure what you mean by that, Asakura-san," Negi said as he tried to push his way around her. He didn't want to use magic on her, but for an untrained civilian she was making it rather difficult to escape.

"Uh huh, I've heard that line before. Next thing I know you'll be asking for a lawyer and pleading your innocence before a jury of your peers. If that happens, just know that I'd be happy to work on your media perspective. Give me the juicy details before you tell anyone else and I'll be all yours, sensei."

A bead of sweat formed at the base of Negi's neck. He knew that she and Chamo had spent some time together during the school trip, and this sounded just like the type of nonsense the ermine was always spouting, but this was just ridiculous. Negi didn't even know what a harem king was, but judging from the context it was nothing that he wanted!

He tried to stutter out a response to that effect – he wanted none of the usual misunderstandings which followed Chamo's meddling – but Asakura cut his words off with a swift poke to his forehead. "Shhh... you don't need to answer me now, Negi-sensei. I was just messing with you. Just remember that I still need to get a real pactio card from you one of these days, sensei. Chamo told me all about them, and if you really want my help in the future then that will be my price. Understood?"

The boy blushed a deep, deep red as he merely nodded his head in reply. Finding it satisfactory, the girl released him and backed away. She gave another laugh as she moved towards the train's exit.

"See you around then, sensei."

As Negi watched Asakura walk away he knew that there was something he needed to do, an action which he needed to take.

Negi put opened the class roster book in his hands and, taking a black pen out from within his suit's inner pocket, made a quick notation. He wrote it in bold across the top of the class page and then underlined it for good measure.

Then he put the pen away, closed the book, and started looking for Natsu. Asakura had been the last girl left on the train, and with that duty done it was time for Negi to take Natsu to see the elderly principal of Mahora Academy. Negi didn't know of a way for the older boy to return home, but it was possible that Konoka's grandfather knew of one.

As Negi thought to himself about the upcoming meeting and searched for Natsu throughout the compartment he noticed an odd smell. It was acrid and biting, and for some it made him feel nauseous. He paused as he tried to place it.

When he finally did place the smell, Negi covered his nose with one hand. Someone had definitely thrown up on the ride back from Kyoto, and they had done it right at the end of the trip too.

_Ugh!_

* * *

"Play the video again, Chachamaru. I wish to see Boya's expression once more."

With a soft noise of whirring gears the robotic looking girl standing beside Eva moved to comply. As she did, Chachamaru turned her head away from the floor and looked at her tiny sovereign.

"As you wish, my Master," the robot stated with calm precision. "But you have already seen it twenty-four times. I would recommend archiving the video for a later date and concentrating on your bath before the bubbles disappear."

Evangeline splashed the robot with water. Sadly, Chachamaru gave no reaction.

"Once more," Evangeline commanded impreiously, "then you may go. I've never seen Boya with such an amusing face. Now play the video of the pink idiot once more."

Chachamaru turned her head back to the floor. Beams of light shone from her eyes and a picture of the previous day's events came to life on the floor by Evangeline's tub.

Evangeline sighed, groaning in ecstasy as she dipped lower into the steaming hot bath. Watching the video again for the twenty-fifth time, Evangeline still shivered with delight. Few things in the world felt better after releasing her full power than a nice hot bubbly bath drawn by Chachamaru and watching an entertaining video.

Thinking back on the events of the past few days was rather pleasant for the small vampire. Eva had been able to truly stretch her wings for the first time in a decade. Powering up during the festival was fun and all, but she had been able to _use_ her power. Dispatching a demon older than herself, terrifying Boya and his little ministra, alongside seeing the greatest display of idiocy since the Thousand Master himself... well, that was cause for quiet celebration.

She giggled at the thought. Boya's class of girls was mildly entertaining the more she learned of them, but not enough to hold her attention for very long. Too many years spent with girls their age had dulled Eva's interest. Yet between the little Springfield, Kagurazaka, Sakurazaki and this new idiot friend of theirs, she might be able to have more enjoyment than any time since before Nagi sealed her into the damn academy ten years ago.

As the hologram flickered to an end, the tiny woman cupped her hands together beneath the water and slowly brought them above the surface. Bubbles glittered on her palms, refracting light in a glittering cascade of rainbows. They were beautiful. She blew them apart and smiled.

The hologram soon came to an end and with it Evangeline's desire to think of anything complex. "Aah... this really is hitting the spot," she hissed to herself as Chachamaru left the room. Still smiling, the Evangeline leaned back and closed her eyes. The vampire lost track of time while she soaked in a world of heat and bubbles. Dreams ran through her head, of men and boys with red and pink hair.

When she awoke from her impromptu nap, Chachamaru and the rest of her attending dolls had left the vampire alone in the room. Evangeline nodded at their absence as she stepped out of the still warm bath. Efficient use of time and energy on their part was pleasing to their master.

Wrapping herself in a soft, blue-white robe placed at the foot of the tub, Evangeline slowly made her way out of the bathing area and back to her room. A great yawn split her face as she walked, exposing two pairs of needle sharp fangs. The tiny vampire most likely would have looked very cute in that moment had anyone been around to see it. Anyone who had witnessed it, though, would have died shortly thereafter.

After sipping an exceptional vintage of Syrah from a glass left in an alcove near her room, Evangeline turned the lights off with a mental command. Such an excellent day deserved to be topped off with an equally great rest, she thought to herself as she made her way through the dark. The petite vampire gratefully climbed into her mussed up bed and let a pleasurable sigh escape her lips.

It was only when a warm, muscular arm made its way around her waist that Evangeline knew she was not alone.

* * *

"Ooh, what's that Negi? Can I eat it? I'm starving!"

"No, you can't, Natsu-san! You just threw up all over the train compartment!"

"Awww. But I'm all better now. See?" Natsu gave his toned stomach a hard slap. "Now I just need to get something inside of it to replace what went out."

"No means no, Natsu-san."

"Bah! Erza and Happy would support me."

"I don't who they are, but I still seriously doubt that they would do so. No normal person would."

"Exactly! They're better than normal, they're in Fairy Tail. But fine, whatever. There'll be more food wherever we're going, right?"

From his place ahead of the young boy, Natsu heard Negi pause for a moment. When he replied, it was in a very cautious tone.

"Um... you know Natsu-san, maybe it would be a good idea after all to get some food before we reach our destination. What do you think, Takamichi?"

Beside Natsu, the large bearded man Negi had just spoken to smiled and nodded his head. He was a big man, around the same body type as Gildarts, and had a similarly carefree look in his eyes. But also like Gildarts, Natsu could just feel the power Takamichi held within his body. The bearded man was a powerhouse, and every time Natsu looked at the other man Natsu could feel his fighting instincts welling up within his body. Being off of the train had rejuvenated Natsu's mind and body, and he felt like his usual self.

When Natsu had come to, he had found himself in a strange room. It had reminded him somewhat of the Magic Council's offices, only smaller. Another difference had been the old man lying on a futon with a bag of ice on his forehead. It was an odd sight, but Natsu had seen odder.

In any case, Natsu had not stayed within the room for very long. He had only just been able to start looking around when Negi had tugged on his sleeve and motioned towards the door. Figuring that there was no reason to stay in a room with a seemingly exhausted old man, Natsu had followed the young boy out of the room and into the hall. There they had met Takamichi, who introduced himself to Natsu with a smile on his face. It appeared that the white-clothed man had also been in the room but had left earlier than Natsu and Negi.

Of course, the only reason why Natsu cared about any of it and had not started setting nearby objects on fire was because Takamichi claimed to have some information about the magic which had brought the dragon slayer to this strange new world. He had used some big words to describe it, none of which really mattered to Natsu. All he knew was that the gist of it was that he was not supposed to be in this world, and that apparently some kind of weird resonance that was changing the planet's field of magic had been centered in Kyoto, right where Natsu had appeared. Added all together, it was unlikely to be just a coincidence.

Meanwhile, another one had just happened in Mahora and Takamichi was on his way to investigate. Excitement had raced through Natsu's body at those words. Finally, a lead as to how he might find his friends had appeared!

With an emphatic slap to the big man's shoulder Natsu had declared that he and Negi would accompany Takamichi on his mission. The older man had shaken his head in amusement at Natsu's words but, after a quick look at the old man, had given his consent.

Thus, with some clothes on, no vehicles, and no Asuna or Haruna around, Natsu was now enjoying himself immensely. With a lead to pursue and a new place to explore, things were looking up immensely. To make it even better, Negi's town was amazing!

People were walking around everywhere, in greater volume than even the capital of Fiore, and they had all sorts of really cool gadgets in their hands that Natsu had never before seen. To make things even cooler, there was a ridiculously huge tree in the town's center. It was awesome! It reminded Natsu of the giant tree on Tenrou Island. Not just the size of it, but that it also pulsed with a magic which put Natsu at ease.

Maybe too at ease, because as they passed various stores Natsu couldn't help but try to go into them. What Takamichi had referred to as a thirty minute trip had taken them over an hour so far, with Natsu constantly wandering off and the other two mages having to constantly reel him back onto the street.

However, Natsu didn't really care for how they felt. After begging him not to use magic due to it being illegal in public, the two of them were watching Natsu like a hawk for any signs that he was going to let loose and disobey. Doing so was tempting, very tempting, but Natsu still needed their help to find his friends. So unless another way forward were to present itself, the dragon-slayer was stuck obeying their rules for the time being.

As they passed one particularly fragrant area, Natsu's nose twitched in curiosity. "Hey Negi, what's that shop over there do?" He said, pointing. "Can we go in it? It smells really good!"

The trio of mages stopped and looked where Natsu had pointed. Takamichi shook his head and pulled out a cigarette while Negi pinched his nose before replying. Natsu took great pleasure seeing Negi's annoyance; seeing it gave him an idea of just how far Natsu could push the young boy in the future, a must when you might have to trust your life to them.

"It makes pastries, Natsu-san." Negi said tiredly as he and Takamichi kept walking. "And before you ask, the one next door is ice cream, the one after that is a clothing store, and the one beyond that sells shoes."

"Ooh! So you guys have ice cream over here as well? That's awesome! I can't wait to show this place to Lucy and Wendy. Can we go in and try some out?" Natsu thought about it for a moment. "Ya think they have dragonberry flavor? That's my favorite."

Negi sighed again. Natsu had found a button for the young boy and was really pushing it. "Could you please ask questions later, Natsu-san? After we get to Evangeline-sans house?" The boy replied. "We are on an important mission which could be time sensitive."

"So?"

"No means no, Natsu-san."

Bah! Besides being genuinely interested in the ice cream – dragonberry was the best ice cream flavor in this or any other world which might happen to exist – Natsu was trying to match and catalog all of the various smells. It was tough going too. The dragon slayer had to constantly ask the two other mages about the places they encountered and then try to figure which scents went to which objects by using their information and his own general knowledge. He figured that he was only succeeding about fifty percent of the time.

But wait, did Negi just say Evangeline? As in that crazy child who had just sat and laughed as Natsu had been pummeled by Mana and the others?

That was where they were going?

Aha!

_Yes!_ Natsu thought to himself, _if that's where we're going, maybe I might get a chance to duke it out with her_. According to what Negi had said back in Kyoto, Evangeline was supposed to be some sort of ancient badass vampire mage in this world. What with Negi being too weak and Takamichi a pansy, the childlike vampire was probably Natsu's best bet for a good fight.

But if he were going to be fighting against a badass, Natsu would need to get some food in his belly. He hadn't replaced the food he had thrown up earlier, and if he didn't get some energy in him then there was no way he would be at peak fighting ability.

Judging from Negi's resistance towards feeding him any sort of normal food, that left Natsu with only one option.

"Fine!" Natsu said loudly. He laced his fingers together and placed them behind his head as he spoke. "Then point me towards the nearest forge or bonfire, 'cause I seriously need to eat something. If I don't get anything in me then I might seriously die. I'm starving!"

Negi paused at Natsu's remark. The young boy, who up until now had been placing barely any thought into his answers, was now staring at Natsu with a perplexed look on his face.

The kid gave voice to his confusion. "Natsu, do you mean to say that you can eat fire?" Negi said with a note of interest in his voice.

Natsu nodded his head in reply. "Duh. I'm the dragon-slayer of fire. Don't you guys know what that means?"

Negi shook his head. Then the young boy looked up at Takamichi to see if the older man knew. Takamichi shrugged his shoulders and shook his head as well.

Seeing their looks of confusion ticked Natsu off. "Damn alternate worlds," he muttered. "You guys don't have dragon-slayers here? Bah!"

He was seriously tempted to give them a demonstration on what it meant to be a dragon-slayer, but Natsu was just too hungry.

Thankfully it seemed that Takamichi also did not want to delve too deeply into a discussion on magic styles. The big man placed a hand on top of Negi's shoulder just as the kid opened his mouth to say something.

"As interesting as that is, Natsu-kun," Takamichi said. "I think that we can wait to see you eat fire some other time. Doing that where non-magic users could see you would be illegal. We will just have to take your word on it for the moment."

The tall, bespectacled man pulled a cigarette out of his pocket as he spoke, lighting it with some sort of strange metallic device he pulled out from another pocket. Natsu's eyes, drawn by the thing's flame, followed it as Takamichi continued to speak.

"So how about we stop for some food? If we are going to be meeting Evangeline, it would be best if we were all in a calm and relaxed state of mind. Besides, unless my nose is deceiving me, I think that there is a truly excellent source of food nearby."

Natsu's ears perked up at that bit of information. Takamichi could smell something tasty? Something that was close by their location? Hell, if that nose-blind man could smell it well enough to roughly judge its distance then Natsu would pinpoint the place's exact location and lead everyone to it.

The fact that Natsu didn't actually know either the restaurant or the smell of its food was of no importance. Upon his pride as a dragon slayer, there was no way that Natsu would let a little thing like that get in his way.

He breathed in deeply, taking in the scents of everything nearby. There were at least ten restaurants within a one mile radius of their current position. Of those restaurants three were close enough for a normal human to smell, and only one of them smelled like the food they were cooking was even half-way edible. That had to be the place.

Smiling in victory, Natsu nodded his head in the direction his instinct told him was the place. "That one over there, right?"

The big man raised an eyebrow in surprise at Natsu's words. "Natsu-kun, unless you are also a mind reader, I don't think that it's possible for you to know - "

Natsu cut Takamichi off mid-sentence. "Nah, not a mind reader," he said toothily. "But I've got a dragon's nose."

Natsu then continued walking in the direction he had picked, and lengthened his stride to force the other two to keep up with him or get left behind. The footsteps of the other two mages soon joined his own, and the three of them made their way quickly through the crowded streets of Mahora.

It was a quick walk from their current position to the restaurant. As soon as the place Natsu's nose had detected came into sight, the dragon-slayer heard Takamichi give a sigh.

Natsu shot him a shark toothed grin in reply. "See? See? Ha! I was right, wasn't I?"

Takamichi tipped his head in reply. "You were right, Natsu-kun," the big man said as he rolled his eyes.

"Haha! I knew it! You should never underestimate a dragon's nose Takamichi!"

"But your humble attitude could sure use a little more work."

Natsu cocked his head in confusion. He knew that he had heard that word before, but he couldn't remember what it meant.

"What's humble mean?" He asked innocently.

The bespectacled man opened his mouth to respond, but closed it as a loud rumble sounded from Natsu's stomach. "I suppose that's a lesson for another time, Negi-kun," Takamichi said. "Let's get some food in us before we talk any further."

Takamichi pulled an item from his pocket, probably made of leather by its smell. The big man then took out some stamped pieces of paper and handed them over to Negi.

"Here Negi-kun, use this to pay for three orders of Baozi and make the order to go. I'll move ahead and take some preliminary readings while the two of you get the food and make your way after me."

Takamichi turned to leave, but paused before he had gone very far. "I think that the restaurant's owner and chef will be a surprise to you, Negi-kun." He said with a smile. "Make sure to give them my regards."

"Of course I will Takamichi. We will see you soon."

With Negi's reply registered, the bearded man placed his hands into his pockets and walked back the way they had come. His large frame disappeared into the night, leaving Natsu and Negi standing next to the restaurant.

The crackle of coals in a nearby brazier broke the silence.

"Alright – time for food!" Natsu said happily as he made a beeline for the brazier. The fire was cracking merrily and was a beautiful cherry red over a white hot bottom. Whoever had lit the brazier had used quality coal, the smell of which made Natsu lick his lips in anticipation.

His plans for a fiery snack were soon foiled, as the young girl standing next to the brazier called out to them. Grabbing tight to Natsu's shirt, Negi brought the older boy along with him to speak with the girl.

"Negi-bouzu, Natsu-san, how nice to see you frequent our establishment-ne." The young black-haired girl said as they got near. She smiled charmingly, her perfumed lips glistening in the evening.

"I didn't realize you knew tonight was the test run of Chao Bao Zi's new menu ahead of the festival. But as expected of my honored bouzu, you did-ne."

Negi put a hand behind his head and moved it through his hair nervously as he responded to the girl's words. "No, no, it's nothing like that, Chao-san. Takamichi, Natsu-san and I were walking nearby when Takamichi smelled your restaurant's cooking. He was the one who said we should come here, not me."

"Aha. Takahata-sensei always did like the food served here. He was one of our most frequent customers."

"Really? Your cooking must be really good then, Chao-san! Takamichi only eats at really good places."

Natsu saw Chao's eyes sparkle at Negi's words. Something about the way they sparkled didn't seem quite right to the dragon-slayer. Natsu wasn't the sharpest person when it came to making conversation, but his instincts were yelling at him to be on his guard around this girl.

Negi seemed to catch the change in the girl's eyes, too, as the young boy's gaze sharpened. Unfortunately, as the girl's gaze briefly met Natsu's, the dragon-slayer knew that their own reaction had also been noticed.

The girl beckoned them closer, her lips quirked upwards as she did. "Indeed, Negi-bouzu. Now, please, come closer so we can converse more easily. Will you be dining here or do you want your orders to go? And who is this person accompanying you this evening?"

Natsu glanced down at Negi before staring back at the girl and giving her a shrug. "Eh... hey there. The name is Natsu, Natsu Dragneel." Natsu wasn't very good at small talk with random people he had just met. Hopefully that short introduction satisfied the girl.

Luckily for him, Negi was there to pick up the slack. "Of course, Chao-san," the boy said cheerily, his sharpened gaze disappearing like mist on a hot summer day. "But I'm afraid that I – I mean, we – can't stay for very long. Natsu-san is new to Mahora and the three of us are walking around as we introduce him to the city."

The little mage walked up to the counter as Natsu followed behind, gazing longingly at the fire as he moved. The girl had a sharp gaze, but surely she wouldn't notice if one coal went missing.

The other two continued to speak with each other as Natsu planned how he might be able to swipe a coal unnoticed.

"This should be enough to pay for our meals, Chao-san." Negi said as he placed the paper notes on top of the counter. "Three order of Baozi, please."

Behind the counter another girl raised her head. She nodded and began placing ingredients into a frying pan. Her hands moved with quick, practiced gestures, and the smell of frying food filled the air.

The girl named Chao, however, waved her teacher's payment away. "I'm afraid not, Negi-bouzu. If you are purchasing it to go then that is not nearly enough-ne for three bowls of Chao Bao Zi's special dish."

Her words caught Negi by surprise. They caught Natsu by surprise as well. He wanted his food, and he wanted it that moment, dammit! What more did the girl want of them?

Stepping lightly in her red silk dress as she spoke the girl leaned down so she could whisper into the ear of her much shorter teacher. She seemed to be trying to keep her next words between the kid and herself.

"But I would consider doing it for a magical kiss from you, ne."

"M-m-magic k-k-kiss?" Negi stuttered as his face became panicked. "I-I don't know what you're talking about, Chao-san. And besides, it-it really wouldn't be proper. I'm too young, an-and you're my, well, you're my student and -"

"Ne, ne, don't worry about it Sensei. I promise that I'll be gentle."

"No – I mean, that's not really the problem, Chao-san."

"Oh? Then is it that I am unattractive to you, Negi-bouzu?"

Negi's face flushed a bright red. "No, no, I didn't mean that either!" The kid yelled. "Ahhh, Chao-san, stop being mean to me!"

"Haha! I apologize, but seeing the normally calm and collected Negi-bouzu panicking over something as small as giving me a kiss is quite amusing-ne." The mysterious sparkle in the girl's eyes brightened as her quirked lips gave birth to a light laugh. "Besides, I am still waiting for your reply – and before you deny me again, Negi-bouzu, remember that the fate of your meal may rest in the balance."

Natsu scratched his head as he watched the exchange go on in front of him. The girl was obviously toying with the now stuttering Negi, but Natsu felt like he was missing something. Sure the kid was young, but it wasn't as though there was anything wrong with it. The girl had four years on the kid at most.

Besides, if it got Natsu some grub to go along with his fire, then Natsu was all for it.

He nudged the still stammering wizard with his right hand. Healed from its earlier injuries by the kid, Natsu's hand didn't feel so much as a tinge of pain in it as he used it to apply pressure to the young boy.

"C'mon kid, just hurry up and kiss her already. S'alright by me. It's not anything all that weird, right?"

Negi's flush deepened. He continued to stammer as he responded in broken sentences. "No... I mean, well, Asuna says that I shouldn't do something like that unless I really mean it, and uh, Asuna would be really mad at me if I did something like this when she wasn't around, so, uh, I really shouldn't do it with Chao, otherwise I might get her pregnant, and uh..."

The kid's voice began to dwindle as he tapped his forefinger against the other in a nervous tic. By the time his voice reached the point where even Natsu couldn't hear it, the kid's words had become completely incoherent.

Kissing someone could get them pregnant? Natsu wasn't certain how things worked in this world, but that was definitely not how things worked back in Earthland.

At the kid's side, Natsu saw Chao's devious smile widen as she watched her stricken teacher. The girl lifted her eyes to meet Natsu's. As she did, Natsu knew what to expect. She was going to try doing to him what she had just done to her teacher.

She moved to engage him quickly.

Walking a circle around the fire mage, Chao lifted a slim finger to her lips as she spoke mischievously. "You know, Natsu-san, a kiss from you might do nicely as well."

The spark within her eyes nearly glowed as she spoke, lending her delicate features the look of a bird of prey. "Since you're Sensei's cousin, I'm sure that you are a wonderful gentleman as well, and a strong, experienced man like yourself would probably know –" Chao's voice cut off as Natsu made his move.

He had seen Negi's passive strategy fail miserably, and his pride as a dragon-slayer refused to let him go down as easily as the kid. Natsu was a man of action, and in a situation like this there were two viable options available to him.

Option one was to punch Chao in the face, set the surrounding area on fire, and then run away with the food. However, since it was likely that Natsu would be seeing her again in the near future, that option was probably not the best. Which was too bad since it was one of Natsu's favorites.

So, with only option two left to him, Natsu followed the advice Gildarts had given to him many years ago. In one smooth motion the dragon-slayer placed both hands on Chao's waist and brought his lips to her own.

After a moment of shock and resistance, Natsu felt the girl's smaller body begin to melt into his own. Chao's arms snaked around his neck with surprising force, dragging him closer as she deepened the kiss between them. Rational thought began to flee from Natsu's mind as the kiss went on, nothing like the kisses Lisanna had given him when the two Fairies had been young.

"Here Negi-sensei. I finished your orders," Natsu dimly heard another girl say as Chao began to push her face upwards. "I hope that the three of you enjoy the meal, and that you stop by the restaurant when we open during the school festival."

Natsu paid the words little heed as he found himself caught up in the moment. Natsu only returned to his senses when a sharp, tingling pain in his side broke through the haze in which he found himself. It was Negi, and if the smell coming from the bag he held was any indication the kid also had their food.

Food!

Reminded of his overwhelming desire for food, Natsu broke the kiss and separated himself from the girl. However, as he went to let go of her waist Natsu realized that he was actually supporting the young girl's entire weight. If he moved and let go then the young woman would probably fall to the ground.

Crap! Kissing Lisanna when they had been young hadn't resulted in this, and Gildart's advice had only covered the offensive tactics leading up to the kiss. Natsu was now in uncharted territory.

He gave Chao's body a slight shake. "Oi, you alright?" he said gruffly.

She didn't respond, and her eyes remained tightly shut as she continued to cling tightly to his neck. He gave her another shake and called her name. Still no response.

Feeling panic begin to well up as she remained unresponsive, Natsu turned to face Negi. "Oi, uh, Negi, come over here. I think I did something wrong when I kissed her."

It was a poor decision on his part. "Um, Natsu-san," Negi said hesitantly. "I think that she might be pregnant now."

"No! That's not how things work!" Then Natsu paused as a thought occurred to him. "At least, it doesn't work that way back where I'm from. And it's got to be the same here, right?"

Negi didn't respond. The kid's face looked to be deep in thought as he considered Natsu's reply.

Natsu felt his stomach sink as he saw Negi's pensive expression. "I mean, right Negi? Right? Please tell me that I'm right."

"I don't know, Natsu-san. You might have to take responsibility for this."

" _What?_ What the hell does that even mean? I always take responsibility!"

Negi's eyes widened. "Yo-you mean, you mean to say that you've gotten more girls pregnant than just Chao?"

Natsu opened his mouth to shout out a full throated denial when he saw Chao's eyes flutter open. The girl stared at him, her eyes soft and confused pools of light within the night air. Well, Natsu couldn't really blame her for being confused, not after the short argument which had just taken place over her supposed pregnancy.

"Um, never mind Negi. She's okay." Natsu said as he grinned sheepishly. He tried to cover up his embarrassment by changing the tone of the discussion.

"Sorry about that," he said to Chao, "but with the kid not paying up and you offering, I decided to pay instead. I hope I didn't step over any boundaries or somethin'. I mean, it was really good! I definitely enjoyed myself."

Chao's dark eyes glittered in the brazier's firelight. The girl's soft eyes turned into a hard stare as she looked at him, and seeing it made Natsu recall his earlier instinct regarding her. He had let his guard down when he kissed her, forgetting the dangerous sparkle he had seen within her eyes.

The dragon-slayer's nervousness grew further as he recalled one of Mirajane's lessons from his youth. ' _Never kiss a girl that didn't ask for it,'_ the white haired S mage said to Gray and Natsu after the two young boys had listened to Gildart's talk about how to deal with women _._ After a moment's thought Mirajane had also added, _'and even if she did, make sure she actually meant it'_.

It was that part of the woman's advice which Natsu found himself remembering most vividly, as it most likely applied to his current situation.

His thoughts on the subject were broken off when Chao stopped her piercing stare and instead began to smile at him once again.

"Ne, it's quite okay, Natsu-kun." the girl said as she disentangled herself from his arms. "Even if it was somewhat in jest, the offer was honestly made." She patted his cheek and stepped back. "Besides, I enjoyed myself as well. You have quite the unique..." She seemed to search for words, "flavor, and someone has taught you to use your body quite well, ne."

Chao then bowed her head slightly and clasped her hands over her embroidered silk dress. "May the two of you have a pleasant evening and enjoy your food. It was good to see you, Negi-bouzu."

Negi bowed his head to her in return. "It was my pleasure, Chao-san. I will see you in class."

Chao's eyes turned to Natsu, and her sparkling gaze raised the hair on the back of his neck. "It was a pleasure to meet you as well, Natsu-kun. Please come and visit my restaurant in the future, ne."

Unsure of how to reply to her, and suddenly feeling as though he may have gotten himself in over his head, Natsu merely gave her a thumbs up and a hurried answer that yes, he would visit her restaurant again. Every instinct in his body was screaming that he needed to get out of the area as fast as he could. Natsu had no idea why it was screaming at him, but when his instincts went off Natsu knew better than to disregard them.

Besides, he had been able to fish a hot coal out of the nearby brazier while Chao and Negi had bowed their heads to one another. The longer he stayed still, the more likely it was that someone would notice he had it hidden in his left hand.

Yet as they left the restaurant, Natsu heard Chao whisper under her breath. "You I did not plan for at all, _cousin_ Natsu. Oh no, not at all."

Puzzled by her words, Natsu tried to think of why a restaurant owner would make plans for him. He came up with nothing and decided to put it to the side for the time being. Instead, he concentrated on more important things, such as taking a bite out of the hot coal the moment he thought himself out Chao's line of sight.

"Mmmm." Natsu said aloud as the coal's heat worked its way down into his stomach. The uncertainty caused by kissing her had definitely been worth it to get a bite of fresh fire.

There was nothing else like the feeling of eating a good flame.

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't see that Chao scene coming, did you? Actually, neither did I. The dang scene wrote itself – I think it was my subconscious wanting to give Natsu a wonderful break from the torment.
> 
> R&R if you liked it – or didn't. In any case, this will be the last of my initial burst of updates. Hopefully it is enough to tide you over while I work on the next batch.
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> Elsil

**Author's Note:**

> For those interested, please note the following this story starts in chapters 46-48 of Mahou Sensei Negima and in chapter 355 of Fairy Tail.
> 
> As my story progresses within the Negima universe I will try to incorporate any powers/developments from Fairy Tail's manga that seem to make sense for the characters I have taken. I've got most of the story plotted out and I have built in some plausible safety valves just in case something big comes along (damn you Spriggan 12, damn you) that I will need to incorporate. I will also be adding things in from UQ Holder as they pique my interest but am otherwise treating it as non-canonical for this fic.
> 
> This fic can also be found online at fanfiction.net under my pen name on that website: Elsil. I am currently rewriting the fic posted on that site, however, and you may expect to see the most recent rewritten sections posted on Archive before I post them on FanFiction.
> 
> Other than these items, that's all for now folks.
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> Elsil


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